The Legend of Zelda! GX Awakening of Shadows
by dqbsurf
Summary: This is a sequel to my last yugioh GX/Zelda crossover. Link and Zelda come back, and after Majora, something more powerful comes to Duel Academy, and Zelda might realize: from the very beginning, it was part of a bigger scheme! ENJOY and Review zelda gx
1. Back to Duel Academia

LoZ! GX Awakening of Shadows – Ch. 1 Back To Duel Academy

As of late in Duel Academy, 4 students from other academies have come along with one very sinister and suspicious Professor by the name of Viper from West Academy. With him, the four students Jesse Anderson, Jim (James) 'Crocodile' Cook, Axel Broadie, and Adrian Gecko had already gotten used to the Duel Academy air.

Jesse was great friends with Jaden since almost the first day, Adrian seems to have been distant, Axel has been becoming suspicious of Viper, and Jim is an Australian, awesome duelist, and a bit of an earth science nerd; and he has a pet croc named Shirley!

As for Jaden, he's been spending a lot more time with Jesse than anyone else. Syrus has been left almost alone, except for Hassleberry sometimes with him. Alexis, Syrus, and Atticus all have been worrying a lot for Zane, who recently went dark due to underground duels. Aster Phoenix had recently come to Duel Academy just for a while. He stays there now, and keeps eye on things.

Zane had come this day, and Syrus has been training to take him on in a duel again. Jaden helped him last time, but this time, he has no clue that Syrus told him that he's planning on facing Zane. Jaden's head's been full of spending time with Jesse. He even almost forgot all about their previous friends, which were coming today.

Brother and sister, Link and Zelda Hylia, were coming for the next year of Duel Academy. They'd been gone for about one year to take care of business home in Hyrule, and discovered mysteries. Now legends became facts in Hyrule. Link had been to Termina, and Zelda had successfully identified most of the mysteries of Ikana and Snowhead. She'd been working on the Stone Tower Temple, but she couldn't figure out how to get on the ceiling. Some things there were defying gravity, and the whole time, she thought of her old Human friends.

Link had gotten better with his anger. He didn't ever have anger issues in the first place, he was just angry anyway; it was how he was raised. Now he doesn't judge people by their race. He judges them by their personality. For example, Jaden is a very nice, yet hyper fellow, but he is lovable as well. Zane…Link still didn't like him too much, because Zelda seemed to be in love with him. Link had to live with it…

Their boat had just gotten to Duel Academy early in the afternoon. Zelda and Link anxiously got off the boat. They were so excited, that they literally jumped their way down the ramp onto the sidewalk to the Academy's main building. They ran their way across the grey stone, leaving all others behind and planned to go up to Chancellor's office first. Once they got into the building, Zelda ran into a rather large man. He definitely wasn't a student.

"Oh, I'm so sorry-"

"Don't," He nearly shouted, "run in my halls!"

"Excuse me, _your_ halls?" Link inquired.

"Yes! These halls are partly mine now! You students should know that! …hmm…I haven't seen you around here before." The man noticed.

"Um…we used to go here, we're back." Link said.

Zelda nodded and smiled nervously, as he observed them closer, she cowered a bit.

"Why are you in Obelisk blue," he pointed at Zelda, "and you in Ra?" He looked at Link.

'What are you deaf?' Link thought laughing in his head. The smile barely showed.

"No one gave you permission to smile!" The man yelled at him.

"I apologize for my brother's happiness," Zelda said _not_ sarcastically, "But, sir, we have been here before, and we are now back. We needed to go see Chancellor Shepherd, so can we please pass? – May! I meant may we please pass?"

"Don't run there…! Since you are coming back and haven't heard my speech, you'd better get someone to explain it to you. I am Professor Viper; it is very nice to have you as a part of the school." Viper said, giving them a nasty look, and then leaving by.

"What a weirdo…" Zelda murmured to Link who laughed.

The two smiled looking at each other, then ran again towards Shepherd's office. Up the steps they went and there Chancellor was, walking down the halls.

"Chancellor!" Link waved, calling at him, "Hey, Chancellor!"

"Good afternoon, Chancellor Shepherd!" Zelda called.

"Good heavens! It's you two! How have you two been?" he asked sociably.

"Great, actually. We missed all of you here, so we've come back. Hi!" Zelda explained excitedly.

"Excellence!" He exclaimed, "It's nice to see your faces again. I'll register you two back as students as soon as possible."

"I'm sorry we missed a few days of the beginning." Link said smiling.

"That's quite alright boy. You two go find Jaden and he'll probably be able to fill you in, if not, ask Jesse. He's a bright young man."

"…Jesse?" Zelda repeated.

"He's from North Academy. Jaden will explain; I need to go. Now I'll see you again soon, and it was nice seeing you once again." Chancellor rushed off.

"Wow…they aren't liking us too well." Link said in a joking tone, crossed arms.

"Don't be dumb, of course they like us, they're just busy." Zelda said.

"Right, Professor Viper seemed like a real bowl of sunshine." Link smiled sarcastically.

The two began walking back outside at the front of the building. On the way, not many words were said. Zelda kept quiet, and with every step, emotion had boiled up inside of her. She was so excited and happy to be here again, to see her old friends, and all that. She almost couldn't contain herself. Especially at the thought of Zane…she thought she was going to explode.

Once they got outside, the first thing she noticed were two people walking together, and one of them had a crocodile! Zelda couldn't resist. Curiosity taken over her, so she ran to the guy in the hat and western-like attire and looked at him with adoring eyes.

"Oh wow, hi. Your crocodile is so pretty! I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation with your friend here, but I just have to see her. Can I pet her? Please?" Zelda clapped her hands together, as if she was praying and smiled hopefully at the stranger.

He had one eye it seemed. She didn't pay much attention to the guy beside him, but she simply wanted to see the animal.

"Who, Shirley? You want to pet her? Alright then, be careful. Do you know how to handle a crocodile?"He began to unstrap something around his waist, and she bounced on her toes.

"Yes, to handle a crocodile is like to handle a Deku. And thank you…" Zelda smiled, as she watched him look at her strangly.

Her words confused him, '…like a "Deku"? What in the duce is that?'

The stranger put Shirley down, and Zelda carefully pet the crocodile with her four fingers on her forehead, "Is she like family to you?" She asked looking in her eyes gently.

"She is…" he replied awkwardly, "What is your name?"

"I apologize for her," Link came up, "Are you serious Zel?" Link kneeled beside her.

"Are you two siblings?" The other guy asked Link.

He wore a green drape, and glasses. His nose was oddly shaped, but in a strangly attractive way. He almost looked Hylian by the outfit.

"Yeah, she's my big sister Zelda, and I'm Link. Nice to meet you…people." Link smiled.

"That's right…aw, she's so cute. Look at her Link, almost like Teraca!" Zelda cooed at Shirley.

"Right, except Teraca is, of course a Zora." Link told her.

"But look at her eyes!" Zelda looked at Link, and back at Shirley.

Shirley had then curled up beside Zelda, almost knocking her small body back. Link caught her though.

"Excuse me, I haven't told you my name yet," the stranger said, noticing how Shirley loved Zelda's attention, "I am Jim 'Crocodile' Cook. Nice to meet you, mate."

Link made a quick glance at Jim with his cold scowl, but then remembered he had an Australian accent and 'mate' meant friend. But they had _just_ met!

"And I'm Adrian." The red-haired guy said.

"How's it been Adrian?" Link asked, standing up.

"Do you care?" Adrian asked as if it was a real curiosity question and not rude.

"…Well, no, but I was just trying to be nice to you. I see that you don't need that. You're a bit like Chazz, aren't you?" Link stated smugly.

"Link! Don't do this now!" Zelda commanded shocked that he's already getting into an argument.

"Tell 'Adrian' that." Link pointed at him, facing Zelda.

He took one last look at Adrian and then helped Zelda up by her arm.

"Ow!" She looked at him angrily.

"Once, again, so sorry for her, and I'll see you soon." Link tried rushing out of that.

Jim paid no attention to the two siblings after he stopped staring at them…. They'd left in such a hurry, but they didn't leave his sight. He could tell they were now arguing. He wondered if they did that often. And…their ears. Adrian noticed that at the beginning.

"Is it just me, or are their ears pointed?" He asked.

"It's not you, mate. Their eyes are pointed too. Where do you think they came from?" Jim looked down expecting to see Shirley.

"I'm not sure, but—"

"Shirley?" Jim called. He didn't even bother to listen to what Adrian had to say, "I'm sorry, mate, I have to find her. We'll finish this conversation though!"

"…no, but I'm going to find out where they're from." Adrian told himself.

While Jim went to find Shirley, and Adrian went to spy on the siblings, they fought completely unaware of who stood behind them.

"Please don't fight people we meet!" Zelda begged.

"I wasn't fighting…yet. He's the one who-"

"And that's when you step up and become the better person!"

"I'm sorry, Zelda! But I don't want people thinking it's okay to talk to us like that!" Link argued.

"I understand that, but please, Link, try harder to stay out of trouble or your Ombituske could act up again!" Zelda said.

"Yeah, yeah…" Link said looking down, "I will, I promise."

"Thank you…"

"HEY, HEY, HEY!" A strong voice yelled from behind.

Zelda turned around, "Oh my goodness!"

"Hassleberry!" Link yelled.

"Hi!" Zelda squealed, grabbing onto her friend's arms, hugging him.

It made Hassleberry blush, and he laughed a bit, "How ya'll been?"

"Fine; we missed you!" Zelda hugged him again.

"Me?" Hassleberry's smile faded.

"All of you guys, she meant." Link raised a brow.

"Yeah…well, welcome back!" Hassleberry held out his hand to shake with his friends and a smiled.


	2. Challenge

LoZ! GX Awakening of Shadows – Chapter Two – Challenge

Before class actually started, Zelda and Link decided to talk with Jaden and his old and new friends. They discussed mostly on personal conversations. Zelda and Link told them exactly how things went back home, and that their mother is still sick, but she should be okay.

"What about your papi? Don't remember much good in stories about him…" Hassleberry asked.

"He's…I don't know." Link shrugged.

"He's still missing from…where ever." Zelda looked at Link in question.

They truly had no idea where their father is.

"Sorry to hear that," Aster cut in, "Yours too, huh?"

"Is your father missing?" Link asked Aster.

"Yeah, I figured out what really happened to him, though…" he mumbled looking down at a card he was holding in his hand.

"I don't think he likes talking about that," Jaden said.

"Who would? Unless…you're me, of course. I hated my father." Link told them.

"Why?" Aster asked.

"He hated me. He thought nothing of me except for a mistake that didn't deserve to have been brought into the world…but hey, if that's what he really thought why didn't he just leave me be when I was dying in the hospital? The man confuses me…" Link sighed with his blue eyes closed.

"…okay," Aster raised a brow, "Can we change the subject?"

"Yes, we can." Zelda piped up immediately, not wanting to talk about fathers at all.

"Who are your new friends, Jaden? I saw you talking to another person a while ago." Zelda asked, "It was someone I've never seen before."

"Blue hair?" Syrus asked.

"Yes, but-"

"That's Jesse Anderson. He's a big time duelist where he's from." Syrus said, "And he's almost exactly like Jaden."

"Are you kidding?" Alexis asked, "They're like twins…"

"The question was for me!" Jaden suddenly yelled, "His name's Jesse Anderson, he's a big-shot duelist back at North Academy where he came from, and we are almost exact. He duels with a Crystal Beast deck, and they're pretty awesome, I gotta say." Jaden smiled wide.

"When can we meet him?" Zelda asked.

"He was actually supposed to be here by now." Jaden put a finger up to his lips in thought; where is Jess?

"Maybe he got lost again," Hassleberry suggested.

"Hopefully that's _it._" Syrus rolled his eyes.

Link could sense he didn't like Jesse Anderson too much…he also sensed jealousy. Syrus was jealous of Jesse because…?

"Not like you and Jesse don't already spend enough time with each other, Jaden." Alexis said.

"It's really a 24/7 thing." Hassleberry stated.

He's jealous of Jesse because he feels like Jaden likes Jesse better because he spends more time with him. That's gotta be it! It's one of those 'love like family' thing. It's the same way Link gets when Zelda finds a new friend and talks nothing except about that person. That really isn't fun. Link slightly laughed, looking at Syrus.

"What?" Syrus asked.

"I know how you feel, believe me." Link said to him.

Syrus was confused at this. Was Link reading his mind?

"How he feels about what?" Alexis asked.

"It's got to be Zane. That boy's gone topsy-turvy!" Hassleberry exclaimed.

Zelda got a serious and curious facial expression. Something about Zane? She wondered why she hadn't seen him. Link also looked serious at Zane's name. What's wrong with Truesdale, besides the fact that he's Truesdale?

"What's wrong with Zane?" Zelda asked almost looking sad.

"Don't tell me you're totally in love with Zane, too." Aster mumbled.

"Someone else loves Zane? Did she try and take him from me?" Zelda yelled.

"Calm down…he isn't worth it." Link told his sister, who was almost the same age as him now.

"Zelda wasn't only in love with my bro," Syrus told Aster, "But he and she was a real item. They knew each other when they were little in Hyrule."

"Zane's been to this Hyrule?" Aster grimaced.

"Yep…" Syrus told him.

"No," Jaden began answering Zelda's question, "well, I guess technically yeah for the first part, but Zane is having a lot of issues right now." Jaden said.

"Where is he?" Zelda asked.

"Anywhere he'd be able to stand." Alexis murmured.

"I'm not sure where he is, but I know he's somewhere at Duel Academy." Syrus said.

"Hey kid, you kid there," Link pointed at Aster, "What's your name?"

The two never knew Aster's name, they only met him today. The question was weird to Aster, people usually just knew him.

"Aster Phoenix," Aster replied.

"Okay, well we should get to class before we're late." Link said looking at everyone else, and walking towards the door.

"But I've been on time to class maybe…about twice." Jaden said.

"It's true," Alexis implied, "he's rarely on time."

"Well I'm rarely not, so I'll see you guys later." Link was about to leave when an unfamiliar southern accented voice spoke out of turn.

"Oh man! There ya'll fellas are!" The blue-haired one Zelda saw with Jaden entered the room, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry I'm real late, but I have a hard time gettin' through here, ya'll know?"

"Yeah…we know." Syrus said, separating his words slightly.

"Jesse! Hey, these are my two old friends from last year, Zelda," Zelda waved at Jesse, smiling at him but still thinking of Zane clearly, "and that's Link over there."

Link looked at Jesse, no expression, and walked out the door, "Ouch…" Jesse mumbled.

"He's just a little upset because he wanted to get to class, and he wasn't expecting you," Zelda told Jesse.

"Are ya'll sibs?" He asked.

"Yes, it was very great to meet you, now I must chase after him. I'll see you in class Jay." Zelda waved them all good-bye.

"Hey wait Zelda!" Alexis chased after her, so they could walk and talk on the way to class, "I forgot to ask you: what did "arrivederci" mean when you left last year?"

"It's Italian for good-bye." The guys heard the girls lastly say as they walked off to class.

"They haven't met Blaire yet, have they?" Hassleberry asked.

"I don't think so." Jaden replied.

The guys all eventually went to class. In their first class, Jaden, Syrus, and Hassleberry slept. Professor Viper handed Link and Zelda bio-bands for their survival duels.

"Survival duel?" Zelda repeated after him, already having a bad feeling about it.

"I thought I'd told you before not to speak out like that!" Viper snapped.

Link opened his mouth to defend his sister, but Zelda sensed the movement, and put a hand in front of Link's face, to halt him.

"I am sorry," Zelda said to him impatiently.

As he went on and taught the class, Link thought up of ideas to sabotage this guy. Sure, it wasn't the right thing to do, Link knew that, but it was a moment where he'd made up his mind. This guy needs some Link wrath, and if he yells at Zelda again like that, oh brother! Would he get it?

Zelda must've caught Link's naughty thinking, and slapped the top of his head. He looked at her in question and she gave him the "DO IT AND I'LL HAVE TO HURT YOU" look. Link rolled his eyes and instead thought about if he switched the letters in his name.

He could be Kinl, or Kiln, or Nilk…but that's too similar to milk. Just as his thoughts began taking over his face, the bell rang to go to the next class. They were having a special artsy class. Zelda was so thrilled, but one named Axel on the other hand, didn't do anything at all in this class. He must not have liked painting.

Link did something simple. Using one color, he painted the Triforce on his paper on the easel. Jaden tried painting Jesse, and Jesse tried painting Jaden. They had a blast for sure. Syrus couldn't paint, but what he tried was a circle and some straight lines. Hassleberry drew a very strange looking tyrannosaurus.

In about the middle of class, Zelda had almost been done painting part of Lake Hylia, when two kids their age walked up.

'They must be done,' thought Zelda, only looking at them with the corner of her eye, not noticing their facial expression.

"How are you to-" She stopped when she looked at their faces.

They looked a little bit angry…as if they wanted to hurt her or were mad at her. But she didn't even know them was the problem.

"Um…" Zelda stared at each of their faces, "Do you need something?" They stayed silent, just watching her like owls.

"Okay, then. That's nice; I'll get back to painting now." Zelda turned the other way, ignoring them.

"You're that Hylian student, yeah?" one of them asked with an accent that sounded northern.

"Yes, that's me-"

"And me!" Link ran up beside the people, "Excuse me, who are you two?"

"I am Rowds, and my partner here, Jose." The accented one said to them.

"Yeah, that's great, but the problem with that is, we almost don't care," Link said putting his arm around Zelda who looked at him a little disappointed, "Yet, I have been taught to be a lot nicer to people, so I am forced to care—I-I mean, I very much _do_ care…so, uh, what do you want kid?"

Zelda looked at the two boys a little wide-eyed and pouty-lipped. She wanted to apologize for him, but they didn't seem to care too much. Instead, Rowds smiled at them.

"That's great, see…I was hoping you'n me could duel a little. Ya know, in the stadium where everyone watches." What was this guy's pain?

Was he trying to scare them off? It didn't work. Especially after what happened last year, not much could scare them, except angry Gorons maybe.

"Sure, it'll be fun," Zelda told them while continuing to paint.

"Do you seriously want to go there?" Link asked.

"Sure," Jose finally spoke. He had a strange Spaniard accent which wasn't too surprising considering his name.

"Ya see, "Rowds began again, "We hear you're are mostly unstoppable, both of ya, so we wanna duel it out and see who really is better."

"If you want to duel for who's the best duelist," Link looked Rowds in the eye, "duel Jaden. He's the best at this school."

"That's so wonderful of you to say Link," Zelda smiled at Link.

"…the truth? Okay, then I'll be honest to you two," Link turned at the two boys with a mean look in his eye.

"No! Not here!" Zelda stopped him, because she knew he was going to try and break their spirits, "Link, you have to be nicer. If you have nothing nice to say, keep your beak shut!"

"Hey!" Jaden came by with a huge blue paint mark on his face, "I hear my name and dueling, what's going on."

"No one invited you," Rowds looked at Jaden, "Now you two blondies better bring your H-Game, and by that I mean get decks from this world."

"Harsh…" Jaden looked away.

"What?" Link asked as if he didn't hear them right, "No I'm sorry, I meant WHAT?" now he sounded truly shocked.

"You heard me," Rowds said.

"Yeah, it's unfair that you have these unstoppable decks, so to see who is really better, use a Human deck." Jose told them, "Hopefully we'll see you in the arena on Friday."

"We're inviting all dorms right after school." Rowds told them.

"Do you have permission from Chancellor?" Link asked immediately.

"We don't need it, we have Professor Viper's." Link noticed Rowds and Jose toying with the bio-bands on their wrists, and then Link looked down at his and got a strange feeling.

"…no." Link said to them.

"Wait, what?" Jaden asked shocked at the decline.

"Link…who just turned down a challenge." Zelda stated the obvious, "I would go for it."

"I have to talk to you, Zelda. I have a feeling." Link whispered to her.

Zelda had no idea what he was talking about…but she figured he'd tell her eventually. Jaden still stared, shocked at his decision. Why would he say no? Jaden didn't hear what Link said to Zelda; he didn't know Link was already suspicious about the bio-bands.


	3. BioBands

LoZ! GX – Awakening of Shadows Chapter 3 – Bio-Bands

Zelda and Link were near the edge of the art class, talking. He had pulled her to the side so he could tell her that strange feeling he got from Rowds and Jose. It had something to do with Professor Viper and the Bio-Bands he handed out to the students. Something was wrong about the whole situation. It was extra fishy…

"I'm serious Zel, I really think Viper is after us for some reason." Link told his sister.

"This is ridiculous. What would these awful accessories have to do with it at all?" Zelda quizzed.

"Think about it. Remember what he said in class earlier today?" Link asked, "He said something about survival duels, and that these 'bio-bands' like…I don't know…test our survival skills or whatever."

"He's probably saying that to scare us, sweetie." Zelda told Link coolly.

"No, Chancellor Shepherd totally wouldn't allow that. I thought he was a guy that actually cared about his students." Link reminded Zelda calmly still.

"Link…" She sighed, "They all care, just in different ways."

"I do not agree with that. We won't see any of the teachers in say…a year or two. By the third, they would've already forgotten our names…" Link explained.

"Oh, Link. Stop it with this theory of yours." Zelda commanded, "It's ridiculous."

"I can't believe how in denial you are right now!" Link began to lose patience, "It all points to Viper. Something is up with him. He's crazy! Rowds and Jose are like his bridge to us!"

"Ok, fine." Zelda crossed her arms, "If you're so set on this, let's talk to the guys about it."

That was a plan Link could easily agree to. He gratefully smiled at her, and the two went back out in the open. Rowds and Jose immediately noticed them walk back to the easel that Zelda was assigned. The teacher had come by and looked at it gingerly, as if it would attack her aggressively.

"Oh, I love it," she said in an accent that was also Spaniard, "Muy brilliante!"

"Estamos planeando duelo del artista." Jose told the teacher in Spanish.

"Very nice, Jose. You and Rowds do a good job now. Espero grandes cosas de ustedes dos, las cosas grandes." The teacher then left.

"What did she just say?" Rowds asked Jose.

"I told her we are planning to duel the Hylians, and she said she expects great things from us." Jose replied.

"Please, stop speaking your foreign language near me. Spanish words give me headaches." Rowds said, holding his head.

"English goes the same way for me sometimes," Jose smiled at Rowds.

"I don't think I speak a word of Spanish…" Jaden mumbled.

"No one happens to care," Rowds coldly turned to Jaden.

"Hey!" Link called up, "We've decided we'll get back to you on that challenge, okay?"

"I think you're just scared to take us on with an unfamiliar deck." Rowds pointed up at Link's face.

"Scared? HA! I don't think so, Holmes…" Link smiled evilly like Majora used to do for him.

"Link…" Zelda rolled her eyes, "It's not that we're scared, we just have personal Hylian issues with Humans we don't know." Zelda lied to cover up for what they were really suspicious of.

"Que las Niñas poco de miedo?" Jose asked, insulting them in Spanish. He snickered and laughed to himself.

Too bad for him, Zelda knew Spanish…

"No Niña, es niño," Zelda pointed to Link and spoke as if Jose was an idiot.

"Quit it Zel…" Link rolled his eyes.

Jose looked a little offended, but he turned around and left followed by Rowds. Jaden watched them leave. The whole Spanish really confused him. He thought something was going on, but there wasn't at all, almost literally.

"You have to be so fluent in every language, don't you?" Link asked a bit irritated.

"I'm still learning Arabic, you know that. And English as well, still has me a bit confused. The rules are just awful." Zelda turned back to her easel, and picked up her paint brush, painting a bit more on the water.

"Can we not ever speak foreign again?" Jaden asked.

"No promises bud, but I hear ya…" Link mumbled watching Zelda silently paint.

"What's the deal with this professor Viper guy?" Link asked Syrus.

"I'm not sure. He's kinda scary though, isn't he?" Syrus asked.

"Nah…he doesn't scare me. And he shouldn't scare you, either, Sy. You've been through things he can't imagine." Link removed his jacket in his dorm shared with Jaden, Sy, and Hassleberry.

"I guess…" Sy unconfidently said, "but I still was scared the whole time…"

"Why?" Link asked also removing his shirt from his back and tossing it aside.

"Because…I uh…I can't do anything great like Jaden and you guys can. I'm not my brother…I wasn't chosen for anything special…" Syrus said sadly.

"No," Link said looking at Syrus from the mirror.

He was sitting on the bed, looking down and fidgeting with his thumbs a bit. Link couldn't see his eyes, but he knew he was tearing up…then Link noticed an actual tear from his face to his hand.

"You're right Sy, you aren't Jaden, and Zane or anyone else. You're Syrus…and that's the most amazing thing in the world." Link faced Syrus, now that his green pajama shirt was on, "The most wonderful thing in the world, the Goddesses of Hyrule described, is that everyone is their own person, and absolutely NO ONE can take it away from you. Zelda helped me understand this a little better…The Gods made you the way you were for the reason that they hadn't made a person like you yet. They do this because, you and everybody is on earth for a purpose. Jesse is here with Jaden, for one reason to help you. You deal with this hardship, and you'll learn and gain more experience."

Link sat beside Syrus, and he looked at Syrus's face. He was in thought…Link could tell.

"Thanks, Link…that's cool." Syrus wiped his last tear away, as Link looked at his bio-band.

"What are these for?" Link asked.

"I'm not sure…survival duels? That's what Viper said." Syrus told Link, "You seem suspicious about them." Syrus observed.

"Aren't you?"

"Should I be?" Link looked at Syrus after he asked the question.

"I don't even know. I told Zelda something weird was going on with them…she's talking to Alexis about them. Or…supposed to be." Link explained.

Before another word was said, Hassleberry barged in loudly and in panic, "The sarge is sick!" He yelled.

"Um…what?" Link asked a little annoyed.

"'The sarge' is Jaden. He's-"

"No time for talk! Gotta run!" Hassleberry grabbed both Link and Syrus and dragged them out the door and pulled them away to Nurse Fonda's office.

"What happened?" Syrus asked on the way there.

"Jaden was dueling, and then poof! He was suddenly sick!" Hassleberry yelled.

In the Obelisk dorm, Zelda and Alexis, now roommates, sat on the beds, and talked about multiple things. Zelda hadn't yet gotten to the Bio-Band subject yet, however.

"I just think it's so confusing. I mean, I _know_ she left her hairbrush there, but she always asks me if I've seen it. I swear! She loses things in plain sight!" Alexis rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry about that…um…what happened to Zane?" Zelda asked worriedly.

A part of her didn't want to know, because she knew it was bad, but she had to know eventually. Honestly, she was a bit scared to see him now. She wasn't sure if he was maybe…dead? Maybe he lost his memory? There was no way of knowing unless she figured it out from someone else.

"He's dark, now." Alexis said sadly.

"…dark?" Zelda repeated, "What do you mean by d-dark?"

"He's like…evil now. What happened was, after he graduated, he went to a pro-league, but he endured some underground duels…and they gave him these…things…it made damage real. It's like…he's a masochist. He enjoys physical pain, so every time he duels, he feels the pain of this electric shock or something…he dueled Syrus like that once. Zane didn't even care that he was hurting his brother…" Alexis explained.

"No way…that's not true. Zane loves Syrus…he wouldn't do that." Zelda tried to believe.

"But he did…it's so sad, really." Alexis said solemnly.

"I need some outside air…" Zelda quickly got up and ran outside.

Just outside the dorm, she sat down, against the walls, and buried her face in her arms. How could this happen? Was is fate? Did Zane do something to deserve it? What about Syrus? …He surely didn't do anything to deserve Zane, his older brother, turning on him like that…Did Zane actually…hurt Syrus? He didn't seem like he was in pain last time she saw him. Maybe she wasn't looking hard enough. That's gotta be it!

'I must be a terrible friend…' she thought.

Breaking her thoughts, that familiar accented boy with the crocodile ran up to Zelda saying, "Jaden is hurt! Where's Alexis?"

"She's inside…I'll fetch her." Zelda hid her face so she wipe her tears off and then she was on her way inside.

"Wait a minute, mate…" Jim stopped her, "Are you alright? You seem a lit'l upset." He noted.

"If you don't mind listening, I'll tell you later." Zelda said smiling at him.

"Right on," Jim nodded, and he waited for Zelda to bring back Alexis.

She told her friend that Jim said Jaden was hurt…but that's all she caught from him, "Oh, and he asked me if I was okay. I guess he's a bit of a caring person…"

"That's nice, Zel…let's follow him to Jaden!" Alexis jogged out of the building along with Zelda and they met up with Jim outside the door.

He led them to Nurse Fonda's office, and there, Jaden was sleeping on a bed there. Syrus seemed very upset for a minute, and they didn't understand until Hassleberry said, "He's just sleeping."

"Oh…"

"How's Jay?" Alexis asked.

"Sleeping," Hassleberry replied quickly.

"I think he's gonna be okay, I mean…it's Jaden. He has to be okay." Syrus said.

Link sensed that he was being hopeful for many reasons. Not only because he was Jaden….no, Jaden was Syrus's best friend. Link felt like just by looking at Syrus that Syrus needed Jaden for whatever reason. They were best buds, and Syrus…has brother issues with his actual brother. Jaden must be the last person to be close to him like a brother. What really happened to Zane?

Zelda noticed Link thinking about Syrus, he looked directly at Syrus and had that look on his face. She knew that look anywhere, it was definitely a thinking face, however…it was hard to tell how he was thinking. Zelda hoped it was positive thoughts, but something was…it seemed a bit more painful thoughts. She couldn't understand what it was. The only way to find out—

"Does anyone know what happened to Zane?" Link suddenly and insensitively asked.

Syrus looked at Link very puzzled. Why would he want to know that?

"Zane?" Jim repeated, "I heard'a him. Big time duelist, a bit on the ominous side, eh?"

"Ominous?" Link repeated, "Truesdale is not ominous…Majora was ominous, what happened to him? I know something did, but what was it?"

"He's all dark and stuff." Hassleberry explained, "He is a little more evil than you know, Private. Zane did some messed up things."

"So have I, but I'm not ominous…" Link said…and then thought, "I'm not…ominous…am I?" He almost got a bit worried.

It may not always seem like it, but since these humans were all Links' friends, he cared what they thought of him.

"Of course no." Alexis said gently, "But Link, Zane was…before he went to pro-league, he disappeared for a while and did these underground duels. They gave him a device that gave him an electric shock every time he took damage. It ruined the Zane we all used to know, and when Syrus challenged him to a duel, trying to stop him," Link looked over at Syrus, who looked down at Jaden, "Zane attached the same device to Syrus, and it gave him an electric shock every time he took damage from his own brother. Zane enjoys all the pain that he feels from the blasts. He's…dark."

"….." Link looked back at Zelda and Alexis. He could tell that Zelda knew about this and she was simply hearing of it again, "You're wrong. Zane isn't in the least bit dark or evil. He's changed for the worst, but not dark. Do any of you remember Majora? Has either of us told you about the legends of Hyrule? I know you know of Ganondorf…and Din! Even a Moldorm is worse than Zane!"

"Link! Watch your mouth!" Zelda scolded.

"Go ahead…and do your sympathy thing…Zane is just a messed up kid right now, that's it." Link shook his head and watched Syrus get a bit teary eyed.

"Syrus?" Link began, "I'm sorry for that, but it's important to tell your opinions. That was mine…and, I know you miss your brother, but hoping for the best won't make the best. Only you can get whatever's wanted by you. So if you wish your brother to be back to normal again, only you can reach to him. SO instead of doing nothing about it, try harder to win him over again." Link said.

The entire room was silent then. Zelda was….a bit proud of her little brother. She smiled at him in approval. Now to focus on that duel…Jose and Rowds had challenged them…and it was time to get their game on! Or…to prepare for it.

Read phonetically

Dictionary

**adjective **

mismo

tan

**adverb **

muy

mucho


	4. Change of Plans PT 1

LoZ! GX Awakening of Shadows Chapter 4 – Game

Link had gotten his deck now, which was based all upon machine-types so he could bust out a winning card that had the name of his mother. It was Lorelei the Symphonic Arsenal. That was planned to be the winning card. He could take both of the guys out with that card, as long as he carefully read the Human language that they read. They were strange looking characters indeed, but Link was sure Humans would think the same of his people's writing.

He sat alone in the Slifer Dorm that belonged to Jaden Yuki, Syrus, and Hassleberry. He was staring at each of the new cards and was trying to understand them fully and correctly. Lorelei required a tribute summon of 3 machine types. That problem was surely solved. Link thought this duel tomorrow would be cake, no matter the cards he used.

Syrus was right at the door, peeking through the window at the wall, watching Link. He knew he was in deep thought, so when he entered, he did so slowly and as quietly as possible. That ended up with Syrus on the floor and Link staring at him wide-eyed. Syrus had tripped over his own two feet and ran face-first into the ground, knocking over the trash can as well.

"Are you okay, Sy?" Link put the cards down and went to go help Syrus up.

"Sorry Link, I didn't mean to break your concen-" Something on the wall hit Syrus in the head, "-tration…"

His miserable look made Link smile sympathetically a little, "Hehe…here," Link held out his hand and waited for Syrus to take it reluctantly.

"You alright?" Link patted Sy on the back after he stood him up.

"…Yeah, sorry about all that." Syrus said as he immediately bent over and started cleaning up the mess.

"Don't worry about it, it doesn't bother me. I just want to know you're okay. I'm sure the trash hasn't gotten hurt, and if it did, who cares?" Link shrugged and grinned.

Syrus giggled a little, and then fell silent. After he fixed everything up, he looked at Link. The look in his eye gave Syrus a hopeful feeling, other than a dark feeling that he used to get when he looked in Link's eye.

"You sure have changed." Syrus said, "Why did you?"

Link's smile didn't fade but slightly, "I don't know. Zelda told me…I was never that person. That wasn't really who I was, and this is, I've just finally let him come through. …I felt like I was a freak of some kind. I wasn't like my mother, my sister didn't usually approve, and my father hated me…But then, when we came here, things started changing. I felt something different. Ya know when Majora wasn't all over me all the time; Things became clearer when we left and went to Terminian Hyrule. Terminia is a cool place…I'll always remember it because it…it sort of helped me find my true self. Does that make sense?" Link asked raising a brow at Syrus.

"I guess so…I've never had that kind of moment before really. I mean, I guess Zane helped me." Link's smile faded as he listened to Syrus, "Isn't that what older siblings are for?" Syrus asked, knowing Link didn't have a soft spot for Zane. So instead, he made things more relatable by comparing Zane and Zelda together.

"They can be kinda annoying though. Agreed?" Link asked, keeping his serious face.

"No, I think for us, it was the other way around. Zane…well I think I more annoyed him than he did me, because, most of the time, I was just afraid of my brother…kind of. I didn't want to feel dumb or…like a loser in my brother's shadow. But that was a while back ago, he risked himself for me once, ya know. He saved me from this scary lady. She was a shadow rider, though, and….I honestly didn't understand what he was thinking. Anyway…he changed after you guys left. He's been through some really nasty stuff since he left for the pro-league." Syrus explained solemnly.

"You don't really want to talk about him, do you?" Link asked.

'Truesdale…maybe you were never such a horrible guy after all. You…seem to care about those close to you. But you changed. It's because he's been through a tough time…I know exactly what that feels like. My father gave my life misery. He was truly a terrible man. But you, Truesdale, maybe I owe you an apology.' Link thought sympathetically.

"Can we please not…?" Syrus stared at the ground.

He sat down beside Link on Jaden's bed. Link looked at Syrus in a soft expression, "I never told you why I hated your brother, did I?"

"I thought it was because your sister was his girlfriend." Syrus replied.

Link shut his eyes and smiled a bit, "But specifically, I felt like Zane and I were competing for Zelda's attention. And he always won…I thought…maybe, Zelda either didn't like me anymore or…maybe she just liked him better; she cared about him more than me. He made me a jealous wreck." Link laughed a bit, "But now, I can just punch him in the mouth…But I won't…"

Link turned his head back to Syrus and watched as Syrus's fearful expression changed to calmness. Link smiled at Syrus and knew that he was explaining Syrus's feelings about Jesse just then.

"Do you not have the same problem with a dude I briefly met once? What's the sitch with this Jesse Anderson guy?" Link asked.

"I don't hate Jesse, I just wish he'd let me hang out with MY best friend, but…Jaden sees Jesse as a better friend, now." Syrus said solemnly.

"Syrus, don't believe that. I believed that too for the longest time about Zel, but it turned out, that is what really makes you feel stupid; because, it's not true, and you find out in the hardest way. You'll see, Sy."

Link…he was right. He sure did know what he was talking about. It was the wisdom that Zelda had passed down to him. But did Syrus get it too? Link could only hope so.

Zelda looked through her newly acquired deck as well. Now all of it was a selection of fairies mainly. It was the Agent Deck. The deck Zelda had previously was unfortunately lost and found in the ocean. However, Bastian did not find all of the cards, so she had to build a new one. So she did…

As an optimist, she saw it as a better opportunity. It was surely a sign from the GODESSES that told her to use this one instead. She and Link can win with this one. Besides, Zelda liked this deck better, anyway. The other creatures weren't as colorful or powerful! Zelda smiled as she looked at the creatures in her hand. One of them had pointed ears. She had blonde hair, too. Her eyes were closed however, so Zelda couldn't tell if the creature may have been Hylian.

'Probably not…' She thought, letting her smile fade.

Zelda sighed, and put her deck into a drawer beside her bed. She plopped down on her soft cushiony Obelisk bed. Hugging her pillow, and relaxing her entire body, Zelda thought about Zane, oblivious to all sounds and other movement.

'What happened to you Zane? I want to find you. Where ever you are, where ever you're hiding…I need to see you. Are you okay? Are you not? I'm so worried about you, and…I was expecting to come back with you waiting to wrap your arms around me and whisper to me softly. Just like in Hyrule, when we…' Zelda giggled, 'When I fell from the roof, and you caught me, but you collapsed and broke my fall.' She smiled and calmly pictured him from that moment.

'Oh Zane…you are so beautiful. Your eyes seem very cold, but you are very sweet, and kind.' Zelda remembered more memories from her past with Zane in Hyrule.

Alexis had walked in at the time and sat beside Zelda on her bed, thinking she was asleep. She looked very guilty for something. It seemed as though Alexis were stuck, and couldn't figure anything out. She sighed.

Zelda barely peeked, seeing it was Alexis, and then when Alexis began to speak, Zelda pretended to be asleep, "I'm sorry Zelda…I really don't know what to tell you. Now that Zane finally knows you're here again…"

At this Zelda quickly pretended to wake up from her pretend sleep, she even let out an obvious yawn, "Oh, hi Alexis…what's going on?" she sounded tired.

"Oh…Zelda, um…I think I should tell you something, but I don't really—"

"Just say it trust me, tell me every word!" Zelda sat up quickly, and when Alexis gave her 'a look' Zelda faked some more, "Phew! Dizzy…."

"It's about Zane. He knows you're back, Zel. He does _now_ anyway."

"How'd he find out?" Zelda asked.

"He—I don't actually know myself—but I heard that some kid was saying something about you being here, and Zane had overheard, so he's—I don't know what he's doing—but word has it, he's looking for you. He means to see you, but for him not to be seen." Alexis explained.

"Oh….do you know why? No, sorry. I remember you said you didn't twice. Okay then, I'll just-"

"Zelda Hylia!" Some guy decided to barge in unexpectedly, "Bring your deck! Come to the arena!"

"…" Both Alexis and Zelda took their decks and went to the arena. In fact, quite a few students were going on down to the arena. Zelda spotted Adrian, and the kid with the cute crocodile. What was his name?

'…Jim Cook!' Zelda remembered, from looking at his left side, where he couldn't see, 'He's kinda cute, too.' Zelda didn't realize where the crowd was going exactly, for she was too busy staring at Jim.

She'd accidently ran into Jim while he was turning to his left, "Hello!" He quickly helped Zelda regain her balance "You alright, mate?" He asked, and Zelda's cheeks quickly went pink.

"…Oh, yes…I'm fine, thank you." She said in a small voice, with a sheepish yet charming smile.

Her attracting, sharp eyes were put to work at that moment, "I didn't mean to. Are you okay?" She asked seeming innocent.

"Me? I'm ace. I always am, mate. Don't worry about it so much, she'll be apples." Jim replied.

Zelda didn't quite understand all of the Australian slang, but she tried her best, "Oh…okay. Are you coming to the arena?"

They began walking again, "Yes, I heard you were supposed to be dueling?" Jim asked.

"No, not yet…at least that I know of. I thought we agreed on tomorrow." Zelda replied.

"Who's "we"?"

"Um…the people my brother and I are dueling. I believe the names are…Jose and Roads. Something along those lines at least…" Zelda told Jim, moving her body slightly apart from his, almost hiding herself with her arms.

Jim thought, 'Huh…she sure is spunk.' This means whatever Zelda was doing was working on him, 'What is this? Some sort of magnetic feminine charm? Why is it…?'

"So Jim…you like reptiles?" Zelda asked with a happy smile on.

"Shirley…I like Shirley. That's really all; I saved her a while back ago, when I was a boy. That's how I got this." Jim pointed at his left eye, "I never regretted what I did. I love Shirley. She's my family, you understand mate?"

"I think…maybe I do. I never had a pet of any kind though. I wanted a baby dragon when I was little, but mom said we wouldn't want my hair to get singed. So I never got a dragon, but I did have a turtle once. Unfortunately, that turtle died…" Zelda explained.

"….A dragon?" Jim asked, "They don't really exist do they? Not unless they're holograms."

"What? Of course they do! Maybe not in your world. In Hyrule, where I'm from, there are so many magical creatures there. You can't even count! Everything is so beautiful, and—and everything seems rich with mystical energy." Zelda told him, and they finally reached outdoors.

"That's ace, mate. I'm going this way to see if maybe I can catch up with Hassleberry up there." Jim said, seeming like he really wanted to get out of there.

Zelda fought back, "Wait! I know Hassleberry! Can I come?" She asked with pleading eyes.

"That's alright, you don't have to." Jim eagerly left the scene.

Zelda stood there, forlorn, "So much for his friendship…does he think I'm crazy because I mentioned Hyrule? Ugh! Humans! What can I do?" However, Zelda misunderstood.

"Hassleberry!" Jim called.

He was with Jaden and Jesse, "Howdy Jim!" Jesse waved.

"Why'd you call me? Can't you see Jaden's behind me?" Hassleberry joked.

"No time for joking, mate! You know Zelda don't you?" Jim asked.

"We all know Zelda, maybe with the exception of Jesse, but he's seen her." Jaden said.

"She is quite a looker, right?" Jesse smiled.

"That's a problem for me…I think she's…I don't know, mate. I was just talking to her, and she was…all over me I guess." Jim explained.

"All over? OooWhee! If I was you, I wouldn't been runnin' like the dogs was after me." Jesse whistled in a strong southern accent.

"But…I don't "get with" girls. Not when I have Shirley, mate…any of you know what I could do? I don't want to leave the poor girl heart broken." Jim said.

"What?" Jesse began to laugh.

"Zelda wants you, and your not gonna go for it? What?" Hassleberry began to laugh.

"Fine, then. I'll go get her, and you won't have to worry ' bout breaking no heart, deal?" Jesse joked.

"You can't play with a girl's feelings, Jess. It never works out." Hassleberry says.

"Right, 'cause you're just a lady magnet…" Jesse laughed along with Jaden.

"Look, Jim, if you need to be honest with her, just tell her." Hassleberry told Jim, "But let her down gently. It's not like she'll get her mean little brother to pumble you into next week."

Jim really didn't worry about Zelda's _little_ brother. There was no way he was bigger than Jim. No one at the school was, except for two of the teachers there. But they don't pumble their students.

Zelda took a side trip to the beach instead of going straight to the arena, where Link was already waiting with Syrus and a few other students that they didn't know.

"Where's Jay?" Syrus wondered, "Isn't Zelda supposed to get here?" He asked.

"That's what I heard…maybe they're late. Maybe they can't find Zelda? ...who knows, right?" Link replied looking in the other direction.

"It doesn't worry you to think that maybe your sister could be missing?" Syrus asked, referring to his exact words, _"Maybe they can't find Zelda?"_

"Nah, she can take care of herself, I know she can, and besides….knowing her, if she doesn't want to be found she won't be." Link chuckled slightly, "she's probably singing right now where ever she is _if_ she isn't on the way here."

Syrus found it amazing that Link could come up with that kind of explanation. He must really know everything about her. What's even more amazing, even though Syrus didn't know, is that Link was right about his theory as well.

Zelda, now at the beach sat beside the waves with the orange color of twilight dancing on her body and on the water as she sang to the air.

"En Dashadu no bei Siendu dien Shutu," She sang, in meaning 'Oh, _Youth guided by The Servant of The Goddess', _"keiranu Sai Lei." She sang, completing the first verse, meaning, '_unite Earth and Sky.'_

"No Fieraler Saiye Iktne fi lon keriet Eudauk," She completed the second verse, meaning, '_bring Light to The Land, Fly over us, through The Clouds.'_

"Heised dumei Yeh diste teitra," a faint wind blew her hair over the front of her shoulders, "koi hokta Dum Kul ha kep Yeh." The third verse was, '_Follow your Dreams, never fear for with you I will be in Dreams.'_

"Shutu seevin fi Dum Shunk la…" '_The Goddess watches over you, Her messenger…'_ , "kir Dounst Errm, Enf fure tumpta!" _'my Friend and Hope, This was destined!'_

She took a deep breath before continuing to the fifth verse, "Enf Ashika he berhoth Dum kir Dounst Errm Enf fure tumpta." _'This all will come down to You my Friend and Hope This was destined.'_

After a few seconds of pause and the air was still in front of Zelda, she continued to the last verse to the song, "En…Dashadu, no bei Seindu dein Shutu…Enf fure tumpta." She held the last syllable and closed her eyes with a smile.

'_Oh…Youth, guided by The Servant of The Goddess…This was destined.'_

"Still singing I see?" a voice asked after Zelda had paused for quite a while. She was surely done.

Zelda turned around to see who had been listening, "…Zane? Is it really you?"

She could barely see him; it had gotten slightly darker outside. The only thing different about him was the way he talked to her. His voice sounded….different somehow. It seemed a bit more like…like…

"Yes, it is me. Does it look like me? Have you forgotten how I looked after just a few months?" He asked coldly.

"Um…are you okay? I've been…so worried. Wha-What are you doing? Why are you hiding from me?" Zelda asked.

"I'm not hiding, precious. I'm right in front of you." Zane told her in a teasing manner.

"…come closer to me. If it really is you, I wish to see your face." Zelda told him.

"Not now…I don't want to see you. I just simply wanted to know if the rumors were true. And here you are…why'd you come back?"

Zelda was taken aback, "I-I came for you, Zane. Come here!" Zane turned around and began to leave, "Wait! What happened to you? Zane come back!" he disappeared from her sight.

'Why did he not greet me? Why did he seem so…vile?' Zelda looked up at the heavens hoping the Goddesses could answer her, 'Why did he become this?'

Everyone was now at the arena, Link sat beside Jaden, Syrus, Bastian, Hassleberry, Jesse, Jim, and Adrian. That is…everyone besides Zelda. The duel couldn't start without her! While she was gone missing, Link sat back slightly irritated.

"We weren't supposed to do this today! What happened? This was going to be tomorrow!" Link gritted his teeth.

"I heard Professor Viper wanted this duel to end today, because he had arranged a duel for tomorrow, and he doesn't want anyone to get in the way of _that_ duel." Jesse told Link.

"Oh really? You heard this huh? Well then…good for you. But I'd much rather prefer a straight answer based on fact not rumor." Link crossed his arms.

"You don't have to be a jerk about it, he was trying to help you, ya know." Adrian cut in.

"Don't talk to me human…I don't know you." Link snapped.

"Link is a little sensitive when it comes to people he's never met." Jaden told Jesse and Adrian.

"How does he make friends then, mate?" Jim asked, and Shirley squirmed, agreeing with Jim.

"We kept going after Link. It was one friendly gesture at a time. And a little help from his big sis didn't hurt none, either." Jaden laughed.

Syrus rolled his eyes, 'he's starting to talk like Jesse now…'

"Speaking of big sis, where is she? She should've been here 10 minutes ago." Adrian said.

"She gets here when she gets here." Link told them all.

"Any idea when that'll be?" Bastian asked, "Aren't you worried about her? You are always so protective over her…don't you worry what could be happening?"

"No…she's not here, she most likely has a good reason." Link replied.

"Like singing?" Syrus asked.

"Singing? She's singing to herself instead of coming to duel?" Adrian asked.

"Most likely. But you're just a human and you know nothing of us Hylians, so butt out!" Link snapped again.

"Boy…he sure ain't warmin' up to you." Jesse smiled.

"I think you should calm down! Quit it with your yelling! Get over yourself!" Adrian yelled at Link.

Syrus quickly jolted, and leaned to Link "Just ignore him, he isn't worth you getting so angry at him, trust me!" he whispered.

Link tensed, and took in Syrus's words, he turned around, "Thanks Sy…as for you, lizard boy," Link pointed at Adrian Gecko, making fun of his last name, "you might want to thank Syrus here, too. He just might've saved your life…" Link stood there, waiting for Adrian to reply.

When Adrian said nothing, Link smiled, "Hmph! That's what I thought. Now if you don't mind…I'll be leaving now. I'm going to find Zelda. And then we're going to duel those two humans down there. And we'll beat them to a pulp like they're nothing but bokoblins, while we have the Master Sword in hand. See ya!" Link waved and left them there to wonder what the words he'd said meant.

"What…is…a bokoblin?" Jim asked.

"No clue…" Hassleberry replied, "What's the Master Sword?"

"A bokoblin is a monster that's been in Hyrule for since the beginning of time. They are distant cousins of the monsters called moblins." Syrus said, "The Master Sword is the sword rightfully belonging to the hero chosen by the Goddesses of Hyrule to vanquish all evil." He explained.

Everyone was speechless. Especially Bastian, ' How could he know something that for once I don't? Well…how do I know he isn't making it all up?'

"How do you know that?" Hassleberry asked gaping with wide eyes.

"Link told me a lot about his world and it's history in the past few weeks." Syrus explained.

"Wait…how come he never told me?" Jaden asked.

Syrus believed the answer was obvious, but he kept it to himself, "Maybe you haven't been around enough to hear the stories."

"What?" Adrian yelled, "You believe the fiction that that kid tells you? He's rude _and_ crazy!"

"No…I don't really think so, mate." Jim told Adrian.

"You too, Jim? Why?" Adrian asked.

"His sister also went on about magical beings in a place called Hyrule, where she claims to be from. Can't you see how strange their ears are? They clearly aren't from here." Shirley agreed again by making a screeching noise.

"So then…they're both crazy!" Adrian yelled.

"No, they aren't." Syrus said, "It's all true. Believe us. You weren't here last year. There was a huge incident with a living evil thing that took over Link that had come from Terminian Hyrule. You just have no clue…you don't even know them." Syrus told him.

"Syrus is right, private." Hassleberry told Adrian.

Adrian then kept quiet, and pretended to go with it, 'I refuse to believe these lies.' He thought.

Zelda was hidden in her little brother's dorm room. She lies in his bed, wrapped in his blankets which smelled just like him. It smelt like the trees of Hyrule, Link's natural musk. A tear slid down her eye as she thought about what could've possibly happened to Zane and why. She buried her face, not even thinking about the duel that was rescheduled for that day.

Link had gone searching, but he never suspected she'd be in his dormitory. He first searched her own room, which she wasn't in. He searched the beach, which she still was no where to be found. She wasn't on the shore at all…where could she be? Link knew as he was about to leave the beach, some one was around. Some one was definitely watching him. He turned, looking around left and right checking for any person that could be around to watch him. He saw no one, however.

Link continued to walk keeping all of his senses on the attentive side. He listened for anything and walked slowly and quietly. He couldn't smell anything but nature. He saw no one! Link quickly began to walk faster but still was on the look-out.

Almost ready to give up, Link sat down on the grass and wondered where else she might go, 'I didn't check the docks…maybe she's in a different dormitory with a friend.'

Link ran back across the beach shores again to check the ferry dock, and he called, "Zelda! Zel! Hey, you there?"

He received no answer; therefore, Link began to go to his own slifer dorm. There, he noticed there was something in his bed. He didn't realize it was Zelda until after he'd said something.

"Excuse me? What are you doing here?"

Zelda rose her face from Link's pillow. Link was shocked to see her with a tear-wetted face. He walked his way to Zelda's side.

"…Zel? What happened? Who was it?" Link asked

"It…Zane, Link. He really is different. I can't think of what I did wrong—"

"Woah! What _you_ did wrong? You did nothing, Zelda! Did _he_ tell you that?" Link asked growing angrier by the minute.

"…no, Zane didn't. I just know." Zelda replied.

"Apparently not, Zelda, because it isn't your fault, I promise." Link assured his sister, putting an arm around her shoulders.

Link pulled Zelda to him and hugged his sister, "Do you want to skip the duel today? We don't have to duel if—"

"Duel! Oh Din! I _knew_ I was forgetting something! Let's go Link! Grab your Hylian deck. We aren't going to duel human-like just to prove a point to a random couple of humans. Let's show them true Hylian power!" Zelda encouraged, standing up and holding her hand out for Link to take.

Link smiled, taking her hand and going his way with her to duel a couple of human kids.

"Looks like they bailed, Rowds." Jose laughed along with Rowds.

"Yep, they sure did. Looks like them Hylians are all talk, yeah?" Rowds arrogantly stated.

Link then made his way into the duel arena with his sister and they equipped themselves to tag duel the two before them, "Did you miss us?"

"Heh…we were just talking about you two." Rowds said, "We thought you bailed too scared to duel."

"Oh please, I don't believe in a fear of humans." Link scoffed, "Let's duel!"

It was shortly after that Rowds and Jose realized that Link and Zelda had their Hylian decks. They didn't say anything though, they only thought to each other that they could beat the siblings anyway.

Link went first, "I summon Arbiter Poe in defense mode! That'll be all, humans. Good luck." DEF 200

"Right, I draw!" Rowds said, "Heh…I summon Rescue Rabbit!" ATK 300

"Yo, what's with the low points? Why don't they summon real monsters?" Chazz rolled his eyes.

"Why would you summon that? It's completely pointless on your part." Link said.

"I summoned it so I can use its special ability. Once per turn, I can send this card to the graveyard to summon out 2 level 4 or below monsters to the field as long as they have the same name. So I summon 2 Flying Penguins in attack mode!" ATK 1200, "Pretty neat, right? Attack Flying Penguin number one! Get rid of that Arbiter Phantom!"

"It's a Poe, genius." Link sighed.

"Whatever, now that it's gone, my second Flying Penguin can attack you directly!" Rowds directed the second penguin to go after Link's life points (2800).

"Now I put one card face down, and my two penguins go to the graveyard, but Rescue Rabbit comes on back. Your go, girl."

"…I summon a Zora to the field. Now if you know anything about Zoran, it's that they don't usually enjoy loneliness, so I can summon a second Zora to my field." Zelda was cut off.

"I'll go ahead and stop you right there. The face down I had before, well I'm activating it! It's Treacherous Trap Hole, which means right now, I can destroy two monsters on the field. Now what are the only two monsters on the field besides my bunny? Your Zoras…"

"It's Zoran," Link corrected with a smile, "And I'm cutting into this. I summon from my hand Shell Blade. Now your target is negated. Go ahead and send that card to the graveyard."

"Thanks Link," Zelda graciously smiled, "And now to continue my turn! Attack!" ATK 1200

"Oh, my bunny!" Rowds complained.

"Now, my second Zora can attack _you_ directly!" Zelda told Rowds mocking him as he lost 1200 LP, "I place one card face down." His LP is now 1900.

"To start things off," Jose began as he took his standby phase, "I play the field spell Umi." Due to the effect of Umi, both of Zelda's Zoran's ATK points went up to 1400, "And now I play the monster Octoberser! Attack Octoberser, show her what your made of!" (original ATK is 1600, due to Umi, they become 1800.)

Zelda's LP went down to 3600, "I place a facedown card, your go." Jose finished.

"Is it just me or is this duel getting off slow?" Adrian asked insultingly.

"Just wait, Link will step it up." Syrus smiled.

"I sure hope you're right Sy, this is really lame so far." Jaden yawned.

"The duel's just began, Jay." Jesse laughed, "Just be patient. I have faith in Syrus that he knows Link." Jesse said with a thumbs up and rather irritating accent to Syrus.

"My draw!" Link took his standby phase and thought to himself with his cards in hand, 'It's basically obvious what I should and can do next, but Jose's facedown could go badly for me. Whatever it is…it might backfire on me. It's not like I have a Death Sword in my hand right now. So…will I take a chance?'

Link took a card and placed it on his duel disk, " I summon Deep Python, first to tribute one monster from my hand." (2000 ATK), "Thanks to your field spell here, he gains 200 ATK points, just enough to attack you directly!" Link pointed at Rowds, 'Of course, Jose does have that face down. He could save his teammate, or Rowds could loose right now.' Link decided ultimately attack with his Deep Python.

"I play my trap, negate attack!" Jose told Link. You are sent directly to the end phase of your turn." Jose said.

'I knew something was up his sleeve. Well, maybe I can get a different card next standby phase.' Link thought, "I lay two face downs and end my turn."

"Ah, finally my turn." Rowds drew a card, "I summon The Great Emperor Penguin." (ATK is 1800 + 200 = 2000), "Next, I play a spell called Salvage and so I can summon 2 normal monsters from my graveyard as long as their ATK is under 1500. I resummon my Flying Penguins! And now, since they gain 200 points, their attack turns to 1400. I equip one my penguins with Penguin Sword!" (one Flying Penguin gains 700 more ATK = 2100)

"Attack Flying Penguin! Get that Zora!"

"I play my trap! It's Oath to Order, so you're attack is negated, and your turn is over, and it's my turn." Zelda said, already taking her standby phase.

"Man! How lame!" Rowds crossed his arms, "Fine, I'll get you soon enough."

"Sure you will…first, I sacrifice a Zora to summon Gyorg!" Zelda told him.

"Hold it there!" Rowds interrupted. I activate Penguin Emperor's special ability. I can tribute him to bring forth 2 monsters. I put both monster cards facedown."

"Huh? What're you up to? …Whatever, attack Gyorg!" Zelda pointed dramatically at Rowds's Flying Penguin with the Penguin sword.

"_This_ is what I'm up to! I flip summon my Night Penguin! My penguin can now destroy your big fish thing! Gyorg is sent to the graveyard. Now due to his other ability, all water monsters gain 200 more ATK points."

Nightmare Penguin had 1100 ATK, one Flying Penguin had 2300, the other had 1600, Link's Deep Python had 2400, Octoberser had 2000, Zelda's Zora had 1600.

"Oh, fine!" Zelda placed a card face down and ended her turn after putting her Zora in DEF mode.

The siblings could be in a bit of a pickle, but what can't they do when they work together? Until next time, on The Legend of Zelda, Generation Next! Awakening of Shadows!

A/N: The song is based on The Ballad of the Goddess from SKYWARD SWORD and the other lyrics are from the one who inspired the rest of the song. It's not my work, except the Hylian words once again. I finally got it up. If you're happy about it review, if not, review anyway, mmkay?


	5. Change of Plans PT 2

A/N: Wow…it sure took me long enough to start this up again. Jesus God…I'm so sorry for those of you who were waiting for this. I sort of have a lame excuse for it though. My computer lost all its data and a bunch of crazy crap happened. That means I have no previous files for this story or the story before it, but hey, it's a good thing I post it on FF immediately after typing it, huh? Well…here it is. Enjoy!

Chapter 5 – A Change of Plans PT 2

It was Jose's turn. He looked upon the field and saw all of the monsters, examining them. Zelda had 2 of the Zora creatures, both with 1800 ATK due to Rowds's monster's special effect and Jose's Field Spell card. Link had a Deep Python in the field at 2400 ATK points. It was the most powerful monster out on the field by a mere 100 points. There might have been a way to fix that problem.

His Octoberser had 2000 ATK. His partner Rowds had 5 spots already covered. One monster was facedown, but the other four were up and running. He had 2 Flying Penguins at 1600 points and 2300 points due to an equip spell card on one of them. His Emperor Penguin had 2200 points, and his Nightmare Penguin had 1100 points.

That was the field. Jose finally took his standby phase and looked at his hand, 'Perfect,' he thought with a smile.

"I play the ritual spell Gishki." Jose placed it down, "A know I ritual summon Evigishki Levianima." (ATK 2700 + 400 = 3100)

"Oh Din…Link please tell me you have a plan." Zelda put her hand on her cheek in sarcastic worry.

Link inhaled, "You're the older of us; you should be the one with the plans. You always had the plans in the past, Zelda." Link replied to her in a tone that she could not tell what it was, "Even before you start," Link stopped Jose, "I play a trap. Death Sword…if you know anything about our decks at all, you might be giving up now." Link told him as all the cards on the field were wiped out and sent to the graveyard.

Rowds and Jose both complained, "My cards!"

"What will you do now, huh?" Link asked them crossing his arms.

"What? They can't do that. There has to be a price!" Jesse interjected.

"No," Jaden replied, "That's the way of their decks. They are totally strange…other worldly and…"

"…Hylian." Syrus finished for Jaden, "That's the word."

"Right," Jim whispered, "Hylian…so they are destructive and unbeatable?"

"Nope. I got Link last year. So it's not impossible." Jaden grinned wide at Jim and they all continued to watch the duel.

"…I suppose I will lay a single card face down, and that's all." Jose replied already sounding defeated.

The teams' life points were at 5900 for Rowds and Jose and 6400 for the Hylians. Zelda had 3600, Link had 2800, Rowds had 1900, and Jose was still full.

"Alright, I draw!" Link took a card from his deck, "I summon a spirit monster, the Fire-Breathing Dragon Argorok!" (ATK 2900) "Attack Jose, Argorok." Link commanded calmly.

"Did he already forget about that facedown?" Chazz rolled his eyes annoyed.

Jose took the 2900 damage and his life points were now 1100, same as Rowds. He felt it was smart to take that damage, be left with 2200 points and use them against just Zelda, because Jose is about to take Link's life points all away.

The trigger is when Link summoned a spell card or tried to, "Not so fast! I play the counter trap, Judgment of Anubis! It negates that spell of your from being activated as long as I discard one card from my hand."

"…so?" Link remained calm.

"It has a second effect. Now I can destroy one monster on your field."

"Big deal, Argorok was going to go anyway." Link rolled his eyes.

"Uh-oh…" Bastian mumbled, "Link just lost."

"That's what he gets for being arrogant." Adrian said coldly, knowing the next step in Jose's plan.

"Yes," Jose agreed to Link's previous statement, "your dragon will go away, but you would not have taken damage for it." Jose smiled as Link was hit by a black beam and lost all of his life points, "2900 points of damage…to be exact," Jose smiled brightly at his victory.

Link was speechless. How could he loose to this human? Of all creatures to loose to! What just happened? Zelda could not believe it either. She stared at Link in shock. How could he let Jose beat him? Why did this happen?

"Link…" Zelda breathed; wide-eyes.

"Link Hylia," an MC spoke through a microphone, "Please come off the duel arena."

He did not hesitate at that. The humiliation was eating at him. He slowly walked off and as he kept walking, he became faster and faster. Eventually, he was out of the arena area completely and he hid his face in shame, asking to the Goddesses, why? He spoke aloud in his own language. No one understood him.

"Shutu…" He started.

The arena was almost silent. No one else could believe he lost either. Rowds broke the silence in a proud laughter.

"That's the smart Gonzales for ya! Now one more to go! We got this, Jose…" Rowds said drawing a card for his turn, "Prepare pretty girl. You're going down right after him."

"I seriously doubt that. My brother may have goofed this one time, but the duel isn't over until the last card is played. And I assure you, your card will not be the last one played."

Rowds laughed, "Oh please! You have no cards on your field; no monsters or facedowns…nothing. Do you remember why that is? I do. Your little brother just cost you both any chance of winning."

"Although what you say is true, do not count me out just yet until you have actually taken my last 3600 life points, Rowds. Now quit trash talking and do what we came here to do." Zelda commanded.

"Alright," Rowds was slightly limited on his choice of cards at the moment, "I play the spell Moray of Greed. I put two water monsters back in my deck and draw three cards." Rowds looked at his new options, "Well…look at this familiar guy. I play Rescue Rabbit and play his special ability which allows me to summon 2 normal monsters as long as their level is 4 or below. I summon two Bolt Penguins." (ATK 1100 each) "Now they each attack you." Rowds smiled wickedly.

Both penguins snapped an electric whip at Zelda one after the other four times. She blocked her face with her arms and almost felt a real sting, but it wasn't from the whips that crackled at her arms. Her life points dropped to 1400.

"Now that that's over, these two critters leave again, and that just leaves my Rescue Rabbit, but he can't attack. Hmm…I play two face downs."

"This is not looking good for Zelda." Hassleberry whistled.

It was true. Zelda was cornered. Without Link to back her up, she was now against two guys who had a major upper hand and she had no ideas. Her back was against the wall. What did the hero of legend do at times like these? He never retreated. He was always prepared. Is Zelda not prepared? Had she come with Link also too arrogant and no strategy? What could she do?

"It's okay if you want to give up. Without your bro here to help, I can imagine how tough it must be going against us two." Rowds told Zelda.

"…" She thought and finally drew a card, ready for the next battle, "…I summon…" She stared at a card in her hand almost as if afraid of what she saw.

"…Well?" Rowds urged.

Zelda looked straight up at him, "I summon Majora's Mask!" (ATK ?)

"Huh? What are his attack points?" Rowds asked.

"That depends on his form." Zelda replied, "And do not worry about your facedown cards." Zelda told him as the side of Majora's heart-shaped Mask shot out red strings to the facedowns and shut the cards down for this turn, "His first form, The Majora's Mask has 1000 ATK."

Without telling Majora to attack, it simply did it on its own. It spun to Rowds in a quick fashion and it did no REAL damage. Seeing this made Zelda smile in relaxation. Rowds now had only 100 points left. It was Zelda's end phase.

"I place one card facedown and end this turn." She told him.

"Hehe, alright, that's fine." Rowds shrugged; sure that Jose would win for them.

"I don't believe she summoned that. Can you believe that, Sy? That's Majora! THEE Majora!" Jaden jumped up in shock as well.

"What's the big deal?" Jesse asked.

"It's an evil card. It tried to wipe out the entire world." Bastian explained.

"Your turn Jose…" Zelda smiled cheerily.


	6. Repossession of Majora

Chapter 6 - Repossession of Majora

Majora held the trap cards on Jose and Rowds's field. He wasn't planning on letting go any time soon, either. Even after putting down a trap card, Majora takes it, too.

"Say, pretty face," Rowds began, "How long is that mask gonna be masking our facedowns?"

"Through this turn," she answered, "Once it is my turn again, Majora will change again, and your facedowns will be free again. Another thing, Rowds, don't call me "pretty face", you got it?"

Rowds chuckled, "that's a shame, you really do got a pretty face…" he teased, "Gonzales agrees with me, here."

Jose rolled his eyes, "My name's not Gonzales." He told him, "I draw! I ritual summon Evigishki Gustkrake with Gishki Aquamirror!" (2400) "And this will be the end of your game." Jose smiled.

"She lost, too?" Jaden slumped in his chair, "This game was kind of…"

"Lame?" Chazz suggested.

"She hasn't lost yet," Jim said, "Look at her face. She has some sort of plan, mate."

"Attack, Gustkrake!"

"Okay, I play a trap card. It's called Elegy of Emptiness, a melody trap." Zelda told him, "So my Majora is safe from your monster's attack."

"Then I end my turn here…" Jose replied disappointedly.

"Good, then it's _my_ go! I draw, and now Majora upgrades to Majora's Incarnation." (ATK 2000)

"The Attack points double?" Rowds asked.

"They do, and now, I summon one of my other fierce creatures, a Goron in ATK mode." (2000)

"She's out of her rut." Syrus said excitedly.

"A couple of 2000 point monsters can't possibly help that much. Rowds has two facedowns, and they don't match up to that Evigishki Kraken thing." Chazz rolled his eyes.

"I have to agree," Aster cut in," She hasn't got an upper hand at all."

"Gorons have special powers, though. And if Zelda has that spell card that enhances the Goron's power, she's got it." Syrus said.

Now, Majora, attack Rowds's Rescue Rabbit." Zelda pointed.

"I have a trap! It's called Negate Attack, so no can do, girl." Rowds told Zelda smugly.

"Fine, I can just use my Goron to attack you." Zelda said, "So go!"

"And my other trap card. This one is called Depth Amulet. So as long as I discard one card from my hand or deck I can negate any attack you declare for three turns." Rowds replied.

"Wow…You will do anything for that bunny of yours, won't you?" Zelda put her hands on her hips, slightly irritated.

"Sure will." Rowds smiled, "Also, anything for Gon-Jose here….so don't try attacking him, too. It'll only end in nothing." Rowds told her.

"Okay, fine. Then I play an Equip Spell on my Goron, Electrical Barrier!" Zelda's Goron began to spark up like Jaden's Sparkman.

"What's that do?" Rowds asked.

Zelda smirked at him, "I place a card facedown and end my turn."

"Alright, my draw. You won't answer me, I guess I just have to find out. I sacrifice my bunny to summon Amphibian Beast!" (2400) "That's fun. Now I hear your Goron can attack twice. I think getting rid of him now would be more beneficial for me," Rowds smiled, "Attack!"

When the Amphibian came to contact with Zelda's electrified Goron, Rowds was shocked to see his beast was destroyed.

"What? Why'd he go to the graveyard?" He screamed.

"Do you have no common sense at all? Electricity and water, Rowds," Zelda pointed out, "Since when is it possible to a frog to still be alive after a nasty shock like that one. It only happened because of your Water-attributed monster." Zelda explained.

Jose perked. That's the key. Now the Evigishki cannot attack the Goron without being sent to the grave. But he could attack Majora. Then again, Zelda had a facedown on the field.

'Do I have any cards that will get rid of her facedown so I can maybe be rid of her facedown so I can destroy her pile of rocks?' Jose thought as Rowds ended his turn with a facedown.

Jose drew, 'Not what I wanted…hmm…still,' he thought.

"I summon Double Cyclone, the spell to my field. Now I can destroy that facedown of yours as long as I destroy one of my own. A small price to pay, but I think it's worth it." Jose said.

"But you have no facedowns…" Zelda said.

"I do," Rowds raised his hand for getting her attention as if his voice wasn't enough, "Go on and take it."

"And now, Evigishki Gustkrake, attack Majora!"

Zelda was prepared to take the damage and say goodbye to Majora, but when the squid-like man creature swung his spear at Majora, nothing had happened. Majora was still in play, but Zelda still took 400 points of damage.

"Huh?" Zelda breathed.

"It can't be destroyed in battle? Who makes that kind of connection to a mask?" Rowds insulted angrily.

"I don't even think Zelda knew that. How is Majora destroyed then? How did Zelda beat it last year? Jaden, do you know?" Bastian asked.

"…Zelda had a card, it was called Fierce Deity. Maybe that's the only card that can defeat it. I don't know, I am not sure." Jaden replied

"Only a single card can beat that in battle?" Jesse repeated, "Well that's…new."

"Yeah, I remember that," Syrus mumbled, "there was a story Link told me about the Fierce Deity. He was the one who gave up all his possessions, except a single sword, to fight off Majora. After that, the Deity gained possession of Majora forever until Majora's spirit woke up again and came to this world, where Duel Monsters exist." Syrus explained.

"Oh, that's a pretty little legend there, Sy. C'mon, you don't really believe that, so you?" Chazz asked rudely.

"Everything else Link and Zelda said were true. Why lie about this so suddenly?" Bastian defended for Syrus.

"I believe them, too." Jaden said, "Besides, I was there watching the battle between them. By the way, it was totally awesome." Jaden gave thumbs up.

"Now what?" Zelda mocked.

"I put a card facedown and end my turn."

"Great," Zelda drew, "Time to end this. My ori needs me. Draw!" I summon this to the field!" Zelda showed a monster to the boys as Majora began to change, and Jose played his facedown.

"It's called Forced Back, so your summoning is negated, and now you can't summon a monster at all." At this time, Majora had converted to Majora's Wrath, (4000).

"Oh well, Majora, attack Evigishki Gustkrake!" Majora did as he was told and whipped the whips at the monster while spinning on his toes.

That ended Jose. It happened too fast. No one knew Majora's attack points before she commanded him to go. Thankfully, Jose wasn't physically hurt.

"And now I…" Zelda paused, remembering Rowds's spell.

He can negate any attack. So why didn't he negate the attack against Jose? Zelda gazed at his hand. He had one single card in his hand. After the first Goron attack, he won't be able to protect himself. But wait…he had a face-down, too. What next?

"She almost has him." Bastian said as Zelda looked at her hand.

"Why isn't she attacking?" Adrian asked himself.

"That kid has a facedown, after she attacks, the facedown card could still be protecting him. So it may not be the end yet." Bastian told them.

"Oh yeah…" Jesse watched.

"Attack Goron," Zelda commanded, which was negated by Rowds's last card and then before she could attack again, he played his facedown.

"It's called Faustian Bargain. So I destroy your Goron. The second effect would be to summon a monster from my hand, but I can't really do that now."

Zelda looked at her hand, "I place a card facedown and end my turn."

Rowds drew his card, "I play Pot of Greed, and draw two cards."

"I summon…I summon…" Rowds sighed, "I have nothing left."

"Nonsense," Zelda told him, "You have two cards in your hand."

"Nothing helpful…" Rowds had given up, "I pass…" but he didn't exactly forfeit the match.

"Attack Majora!" Zelda pointed as she won the match.

The crowd went wild. It was like she was in a pro-dueling arena. She won and everyone was cheering for her. She did not care, while Rowds fell to his knees in defeat she began to run to Link. Before she made it out of the door, she also fell to her knees. She became dizzy and tired.

Her energy had left her body. What's the meaning of this? She slowly got back up and tried to get to Link faster. Once she was outside, she saw his body on the ground. What happened to him? Did he feel it, too? Zelda felt his pulse. It was dangerously fast. She carried him to Nurse Fonda as fast as she could without her legs failing her.

As soon as she arrived and placed her baby brother down, she too, fell to her side and was unconscious. Hopefully, Fonda took care of Link.

Zelda woke up in a bed. She was still in Nurse Fonda's office. And she saw Link no where near her. She sat up quickly, making her slightly dizzy and went looking for him. Sure enough, he was in the same bed he had been in last year. He was connected to a machine. That's a bad sign. At least he's alive.

Zelda looked out the window and noticed it was morning. How long had it been? Fonda would know. Zelda wasn't going to leave Link's side to ask though. She got on her knees by Link's bed and held his hand in hers close to her face.

She sighed, "I love you, Ori…" She whispered.

Zelda felt Link's hand twitch in hers. As she looked up at Link's face, someone entered from behind her. Link was motionless and not awake.

"Hello, Miss Zelda Hylia." Fonda said from behind her.

"What is wrong with him? He's going to be okay, right?" Zelda asked immediately, "…He is isn't he? Tell me he'll be up and running again soon." She begged.

"He will be fine, Zelda. All he needs is more rest and he has plenty of blood now. I think the dueling match that happened yesterday caused this to happen." Fonda told Zelda.

"…the match?" Zelda noticed her and her brother's bio-band simultaneously.

'Could these be the "cause"? Link has lost before…why…?'

Zelda's thoughts were interrupted by Jaden entering next. A few other students Jaden knew peeked their heads to see what was going on.

"…Jaden," Zelda stood up, "What are these bio-bands for?" She was more serious than the first time she asked.

"…No one really knows except for maybe Professor Viper. Why?"

"I think these things took our energy from us when we dueled. I had no energy yesterday…or how ever long ago it happened. I found Link un—" Zelda stopped in the middle of her sentence, "Is that Viper professor evil?"

"Evil? Why would you get that impression from him?" Jaden asked.

"Something is wrong. Don't you see it, Jay? He's the one who told us to wear it!" Zelda roughly grabbed Jaden's arms and shook him slightly.

"Um…" Jaden was at a loss for words as he scratched the back of his neck."

"What if he is at fault for what happened to Link? My dear brother…I have to know!" Zelda began to go, but ran into Jim Cook as she tried to run out.

This time, Jim grabbed her arms before she could fall, "Whoa, wait a minute, Zelda, mate. Don't you think you may be jumping to conclusions a bit? Calm down a little. How can you be sure that these bands are the cause anyway?"

"Why would Viper do that if he requires us to wear them?" Jaden asked.

"For what?" Zelda turned to ask him, breaking free from Jim's grip.

No one understood her question, "For what reason does he require us to wear these, Jaden? Do you know?" Zelda was practically accusing him.

"No, I didn't mean require, sorry…I meant…uh," Jaden once again paused in thought.

"Jaden Yuki!" Zelda yelled, "I swear to Nayru if you have any little idea even a theory and you keep it from me now and I find out later I will end you!" Zelda tried to leave again, but Jim got in her way.

"Move!" Go away! I have to settle this! My brother—"

"—will be fine." Jim assured her, "he will, just like the nurse said, ok?"

Zelda looked frantically at all the faces staring at her. She began to panic and make insane assumptions.

"You're all attacking me! My brother and I, you are, aren't you? You are! Get out of the doorway, Jim!" Zelda yelled.

"What do we do?" Syrus whispered to Jaden.

Fonda had stepped in as soon as she thought Zelda would not act out violently and she sat her down next to her brother's bed. Once there, Zelda leaned her head on his body and her arm rested across his chest. She spoke not one other word, just listened to the other students' conversation.

When they tried to address Zelda, Zelda turned her head away and turned it back when the same voice said something else to someone else.

Aster stood outside of the office with Zane. He casually leaned on the wall while Zane stood beside Aster, not touching the wall.

"Did you hear that in there?" Aster asked.

"Every word," Zane replied.

"That Zelda, she's uh…interesting."

"She can be at most times. It's not new to see her deeply caring about her brother, though. She's been that way since he was born."

"Have you known her that long?" Aster raised a brow.

"I have. I lived in the same town with her before until us humans were told to leave. We were actually forced to leave. Her kind hates our kind."

"She looks pretty human to me." Aster told Zane, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Pretty, yes she is. Human, no…Zelda and her brother are Hylians. A sub-human race."

"…They are exactly like us."

"Their ears and eyes are different. They also have Gods of their own."

"Uh-huh…right. Do you know any of their stories like Syrus did?"

"…Syrus knew their stories?" Zane asked.

He had not heard Syrus talking about the legend of the Fierce Deity and the Majora's Mask during the duel between Link, Zelda and Rowds and Jose.

"He went on about something about Majora. He said Link told him."

"I know their stories, well. I made a book for Zelda about all the stories she told me. It was like a Hylian encyclopedia, but there was only a single book. History doesn't go far with them. When their land was created, time was split up in eras. There have been 7 eras. Six of those eras haven't lasted terribly long. It all depends on where the Hylians were at times. Life for them doesn't go as far back as it does with us." Zane explained.

As Aster listened to what Zane said, he paid close attention to how he said it, too. Something was strange about the way he talked about the Hylians. Maybe he could gain some more insight if Zane talked about Hylians he knows.

"So…were you and Zelda close?" Aster asked.

"We were close…_very_ close. We were together all the time. We went bowling a lot there."

"How close?"

"…why?" Zane suddenly became suspicious.

"To me it sounds like you take a serious liking to Hylians. Did you like Zelda as a girlfriend? Was she one?"

Zane smirked at Aster's ability to tell, "Yeah she was. I'm impressed you figured it out, in all honesty. I wasn't dropping hints, you know."

"How about now? Do you still feel the same way?" Aster asked.

"No." Zane put it bluntly, "I thought I would have, but…it turns out I don't care about her at all. I only care about myself. She isn't important at all."

"Oh…are you sure? You don't sound like you're 100 percent."

"She's beautiful, I won't deny that, but I don't love her."

Zelda went to sleep that night and dreamt about Majora. He spoke to her.

"_Congratulations, Princess. You have me under your possession now. You are not the creator, and the world isn't at my finger tips, but at least I can give you the feeling of anger you've never had. Maybe it will destroy you and those around you one day. Hehe…one can only hope, right Princess?"_

Zelda woke up shocked. She immediately went to Link's side. He was still asleep. She took his hand again and gave it a squeeze.

"Wake up, Ori. I need you here right now. Be awake…please, Link." She whispered aloud.

The rest of the night, she slept uncomfortably by his side while holding his hand. Alexis was the first to see the next morning.

"Zelda," She began to wiggle her friend's shoulder so she would wake up, "Are you alright in there?"

Zelda opened her eyes to Alexis. She did not want to welcome her, but she smiled at her anyway and greeted her with a "good morning". The girls were silent.

"…" After a few more moments of utter silence, Alexis cleared her throat, "How is he?"

"He's sleeping. He's been sleeping for…Din knows how long. I want him to wake up." Zelda sighed, "Majora spoke to me last night."

Alexis listened closely, "He said…I possess him now, like _I _am his owner. I own Majora, now. Can you believe that?"

Alexis looked away, "Is that why you summoned him that day on the field?"

"How long ago was that?" Zelda suddenly asked her.

"It was three days ago. You dueled on Wednesday, woke up on Friday, and today is Saturday." Alexis replied.

"I summoned Majora out of chance, Alexis. I didn't know what would happen." Zelda admitted, sounding ashamed, "I am just glad nothing awful happened. Those duelists were human, but they were pretty good. Link lost; if I lost too…I could never imagine what would have gone through Link's head. My brother can be hard on himself sometimes."

"I wouldn't really know about that. Atticus is…well," Alexis paused, "he is a bit whacky."

Zelda giggled slightly, "He is?" She never really noticed Atticus's whackiness before.

He had only ever been so kind and slightly romantic. Never once, could Zelda recall, was Atticus "whacky". Alexis was his brother though, there is no reason to doubt what she says about him.

"How is Atticus lately? Do you know?" Zelda asked.

"He's—"

"Good morning Zelda. Are you feeling better today?" Hassleberry barged in.

Zelda raised a brow, looking at Hassleberry, finally standing on her feet, "You weren't here yesterday…"

"Jaden told me the story. So, are you okay?" Hassleberry asked again.

"I am fine. I am not so angry anymore. Are the others on their way?" She asked.

"No, I came here alone. I brought you some breakfast to eat." Hassleberry held out a tray of rice, fish and some kind of eggroll-like food.

Zelda smiled graciously, "Thank you," she meant it, "Thank you so much Hassleberry. You are such a sweetheart."

"Yeah…" Alexis mumbled under her breath, "_That_ was his plan."

Ignoring Alexis, Zelda helped herself and ate something for the first time in 2 to 3 days. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until the first bite of rice.

"I snuck some of the Ra Yellow's dorm food, but I sorta got a little caught and some guy pushed me out of there," Hassleberry laughed, scratching his neck, "So I had to get some of the Slifer Red's foods. I hope you don't mind. I know you aren't used to the slop."

"It's not slop, Tyranno. It's very delicious. I bet you haven't really tasted it yet." Zelda winked.

Hassleberry blushed as he watched Zelda feast herself off of the undercooked fish and white rice. She looked like she appreciated it a lot. Although, who wouldn't when they haven't eaten for a while?

The whole time while Zelda was eating, Alexis and Hassleberry began to converse. Zelda did not listen to what their words were. All she thought of was Majora.

'Are you truly mine now?' Zelda wondered, 'What did you mean last night? What's the deal with this?'

…2B cont…..eventually.

A/N: Oh yeah! Look who's gotten further. Now…to brainstorm some mores! Hopefully I won't take so long to get started again.


	7. The First Shadow

**A/N: It just now occurred to me that I haven't done many disclaimers to this story at all yet. I did like…maybe _twice_ for the first story. So I am going to do it for chapters 1 to 6 on this one. Here goes: chapter 1 – 6: I would believe it is super obvious that I hold no ownership to either Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and LoZ, although I sooooooo wish I did. How cool would that be, right? Oh well. One day, I plan to carry on a different, epic legacy. Here's the story! -**

Chapter 7 – The First Shadow

'_I am coming. I am reborn into something much darker. I am coming for _you! _I will take your world and plunge it into an endless void of shadows. Once that is finished, I will hold you by my hand and crush you slowly in front of everyone you love. My army will take you all over. You will be under-minded, by my new body. The Usurper King approaches….'_

Zelda opened her eyes slowly as these words faded away in her mind. She was in her own room now. Alexis was directly across from her, sleeping. Zelda turned her body over and sat up, looking at the clock. It was then 5:57 AM. In three minutes, the alarm would go off. Today was a rally day. It was going to take place starting 7:45 in the duel arena. Professor Viper was going to speak during said rally.

Zelda stood to her feet, stretched her body out and yawned. She fell back onto her bed, and thought of the words she heard in her head.

'Who is the Usurper King?' she wondered, 'I do not remember any creature that went by that title…maybe I'm looking in the wrong place. This King…he said he would bring shadows and kill me. Anyone who is like that that I have heard of?' She wondered.

"Well…there is the Prince of Darkness himself…but he cannot be Majora, too. He cannot have the title Usurper King as well and Dark Prince." She whispered to herself and sighed.

Zelda quickly stood herself up and dressed into her clothes for daily life in Duel Academy: A blue vest with white buttons, a white collar and a silver skirt with blue trim at the end. Her boots were also silver with a white and blue tint ever so often.

She speed walked to the school building and went straight to Nurse Fonda's office. Fonda greeted Zelda with a smile and turned around in her chair to continue typing something. What did that mean?

Zelda waited until Fonda said, "He isn't awake yet, but he mumbles every now and again. Most of the time, it's about you. Once before, he mumbled another word. I believe it is a word in your own language, so I am not sure what it means. But it sounded like…Zant."

"Zant?" Zelda repeated.

What is Zant? Is it a word in Hylian? Zelda couldn't think if she'd ever heard of it before.

'…is a Zant a Usurper King?' Zelda wondered, "Thank you, Fonda." Zelda bowed and smiled before leaving to go to her brother.

He was motionless, but he wasn't hooked to a machine anymore. Zelda could barely detect if he was breathing, he was so still. His breath was slow, but his pulse was at normal rate. Zelda sat next to Link.

She took his hand in hers and kissed it, "Oh, my brother…I love you so much. I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can, I need you to know that whatever is coming, because I know you know, we can handle it together. I promise; nothing is going to hurt you any longer. I am so tired of seeing you like this, Ori." Zelda began to tear up.

Zane walked into the same area, and Zelda didn't notice due to her eyes being closed while nudging her brother's hand.

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep." Zane told her.

Zelda looked up, dropped Link's hand and wiped her tears away, "What are you doing here?"

"It's my school, too." Zane shrugged.

"I mean _here_. Why are you in this room with my brother and myself?" Zelda sounded angry with him.

"Well, I am curious as to who Zant is. I thought if anyone knew, it would be you…but you don't know do you?" Zane almost mocked her, "Whoa…that is new. The wisest Hylian of them all doesn't know something for once."

"There is a difference between being wise and smart Zane. You should know that." Zelda told him calmly.

"Yes, but I have been doing more important things lately than remembering anything you have ever said to me." Zane sighed, "Your poor brother." They both looked at Link's face.

Zane walked close to Zelda, gently putting his hands on her arms from behind her, "You know, ombituske is one of the major problems a Hylian can have that kills them." Zane almost threatened.

Zelda ripped her arms away from him and pushed Zane away from both her and her brother, "Get out! Get away from us."

Zane stood with a smirk on his face. He didn't move.

"Why are you doing this? What do you want?" Zelda shouted.

"I just want you. I wanted to see you."

Zelda waved at him, "I'm here, and you saw me, now go." She commanded.

After another wave of still silence, Zelda sighed and looked down at her brother again, "Are you torturing me? Is that your goal? You just want to play around with my emotions because it amuses you, am I right?"

"You are half-right." Zane replied, "It is pretty amusing watching you get all…emotional."

"Why would you do this to me? We were so close, Zane. And now you're—"

"Yes I know. Don't cry about it, Zelda, but I feel nothing for you."

"Then why are you here? Did you need to tell me something?"

Zane turned around and began to walk out. Zelda ran to him, grabbed his arm, and stopped him from moving anymore.

"Zane…wait. Tell me why things can't go back." Zelda pleaded.

"Because you are Hylian, and I am not is why." Zane replied.

"It didn't stop us before." Zelda told him, her grip loosened up and bit as he turned to face her. He smirked at her for a split second.

"What is it _you_ want?" Zane asked.

"I want you to be who you were. This isn't you, Zane. It's not…" Zelda told him, "I would know."

"No, apparently not, beautiful." Zane told her, "Some people change for the better, some don't. And once it happens, they don't go back. This is me, Zelda. This is the _real_ Zane. Do you not like him? I didn't think you would."

"…and that doesn't bother you?" Zelda asked, sounding more hurt with each word.

Zane did not reply. He jerked his arm back and left the room. After a minute of Zelda standing numb in silence, Link mumbled her name.

She quickly looked his way, and ran to him. He was not awake yet. Zelda sighed. But then! Link said something more.

"I'm…sorry, Zelda." She heard him say.

"Link? Link? Are you awake?" Zelda began to shake him a little.

Link barely opened his eyes to see Zelda crying above him, "I'm sorry I couldn't help you…just now. You know I would…I would kill Truesdale anytime." He smiled.

Zelda scooped his body in her arms and held him lovingly. However, Link was feeling a bit of sore pain in his back and arms. He gritted his teeth together to keep from yelling. Zelda dropped him back on the bed and sat down next to him. Link held his hand out to Zelda, and, as intended, she took it.

The rest of the day, Zelda stayed with Link even if in silence just to be beside him.

Late, before Nurse Fonda was going to tell Zelda that she needed to leave due to nightfall, Syrus and Jaden showed up to join Zelda and Link. So Miss Fontaine allowed it for a little longer before she decided she was going to lock up until morning.

"Link is awake?" Jaden asked, "What a relief. How ya doing' bud?" Jaden sat next to Link's bed across from Zelda.

"I think I'm alright. I had…a few bad dreams. It shook me a little, but other than that, I'm golden." Link grinned.

"That's a good thing!" Syrus yelled abruptly, "How are you feeling physically?" Syrus asked after a while of awkward silence.

"Pain," Link replied shortly, "It's a little hard to breathe and I have to hope I'm not sicker."

"Sicker? You are sick? Sick-_er_?" Jaden asked.

"Well, I have the side effects from my ombituske and sometimes it makes me a little sick, and that's how I feel right now." Link told them.

Fonda came in just then and said, "Alright you all, go back to your dorms and get some rest."

"Miss Fontaine!" Link's voice sounded hoarse as he tried to yell, "Please don't make Zelda go."

There was another slight silence until Link said again, "Please don't make her go. I…" Link took a glance at his sister who was staring at him with a look of confusion and awe.

"At least…" Link stopped, "At least let Zelda stay until I fall asleep?"

Fonda sighed in a disappointed way, "I cannot let her linger around. I'm sorry Link, she has to go to bed."

"But—"

"No "buts" Link," Fonda told him strictly, "You have about a minute left you all, then you have to go." She disappeared behind her office door again.

"Zelda, I—"

"Link, calm down. I will be back first thing in the morning tomorrow, I promise, okay?" Zelda was telling him as Syrus and Jaden left silently.

Link was frantic almost starting tears, "I don't want to be left alone, Zelda. Can I come with you?" Link asked.

Seeing Link this way broke Zelda's heart, "Link," she took his head in her hands and held him in a hug, "You know you can't. Don't be afraid of anything. Nothing's here, okay? We can talk tomorrow. I have to go, Link."

"But…I," Link was having a hard time getting the last bit out, "I need you to be here. Please Zelda? I'm really scared and I feel like I need something to grip. You're the only one who'll ever—"

"Miss Zelda," Fonda called from her office.

Zelda took one last look at Link, "I'm sorry. You know I would, but…" Zelda sighed, and then kissed Link on his forehead, "I will be back as soon as possible, alright. I'm sorry I have to leave right now, but it won't be long until I am right back beside you, okay?"

And just like that, she was gone. Zelda left Link behind, crying on a hospital bed. She didn't know why Link was scared. She didn't know about Link's dream. Another thing, she didn't understand why Fonda was being so weird. It wasn't like her to be that way.

Zelda suddenly sprinted out in a run. She hoped to catch up with Jaden, Syrus…anybody she knew.

'Wonderful Hylia!' Zelda thought as soon as she spotted Chazz.

She wouldn't usually act this way, but Chazz was there, and of course he would know Nurse Fonda has been acting weird.

"Chazz," Zelda approached.

"Oh no…" He tried to get away, but Zelda ran in front of him, blocking his way.

"Will you be so kind to answer me a few questions?" Zelda put her hands together as if in prayer.

"…what questions?" Chazz asked reluctantly.

"You know Miss Fontaine, right?" She asked, which he nodded, "Is she acting weird to you?"

"…weird? What do you mean, like—?"

"Like she's not letting me stay with my brother through out the night like she used to. She's being stricter, do you notice it?"

"I haven't been in the Nurse's office for a week." Chazz began to walk away passed Zelda.

"Wait a minute…" Zelda chased him again, "Why were you there?"

"I'm tired, leave The Chazz, please!" He passed her again, sounding angry.

Zelda grabbed his arm before he was away, "Chazz, please…" he turned around, "What happened to you may be able to help me figure something important out."

She had an idea, but there was no way to be sure. If he would cooperate, she wouldn't have to ask or suggest what happened to Chazz. Of course, he just tried to leave again. He pulled away from Zelda's grip and walked away.

"Did it happen after a duel?" Zelda asked which stopped Chazz, "Did the 'bio-band' start glowing?"

"What do you know?" Chazz asked.

"Professor Viper is not…let's say "good". He initiated the survival duels. He is trying to take our energy, but I don't know why."

"…no, that's wrong." Chazz told her so suddenly and harshly.

Zelda was taken aback, "Excuse me? How do you know?"

"I dueled that Adrian kid. We had the bio-bands then, and nothing happened."

"…is that the time you got sick or weak…whatever?" Zelda asked.

Chazz paused, "No."

"Did it affect Adrian?" She asked and didn't wait for an answer, "Viper must've turned it off…" Zelda paused in thought, looking down.

Then she looked up with a joyous smile, "Thank you anyway, Chazz." She left.

An idea had struck her. If the bio-bands can be turned off, then to resolve the entire situation would be to shut them down completely, right? Is it possible to duel Professor Viper to get him to shut it down? Will Adrian know more about it?

As Zelda ran down the hallways back to the Nurse's office, a cold wind blew from Fonda's office door right through Zelda like thousands of ice needles penetrating her skin. It was a cold, piercing pain after a hot, scorching feeling under her skin. From inside Fonda's office she heard something hit the ground and break like glass.

Zelda opened the door frantically and saw Nurse Fonda on the ground with a pen beside her on the floor and a shattered glass vase surrounded by a puddle of water and a single flower with a stem split in two.

If this happened to Fonda…could something have happened to Link? Quickly, Zelda checked for Fonda's pulse. It was perfectly normal. Maybe she was just knocked out. Zelda ran to her brother and checked his pulse.

He was also fine, but he wasn't awake.


	8. Zant, the Usurper King

Chapter 8 – Zant, the Usurper King

Link dreamt silently. He was asleep in a hospital bed completely still. Zelda watched his face closely. It didn't seem like anything had bothered him. However, Zelda saw him get almost hysterical about being left alone, yet now he lay sound asleep.

Nurse Fonda was unconscious also, but Zelda did not worry for her as much. She took Link's shoulders and gave him a slight shake.

"Link," she whispered, "Link," she repeated louder, "Link," she said in a normal volume.

Link barely stirred, but he did not respond still. Zelda furrowed her brows and shook him slightly. Continuing to call his name louder and louder, she watched his mouth move like he was trying to say something, but to no avail.

Zelda took his hand in hers and her other hand placed on his cheek, giving it soft pats, trying to wake him up. Link just wouldn't wake up. That was unlike him. Link woke up at the smallest sounds usually. Now, he just seemed…dead. Zelda knew for a fact he wasn't dead.

"Link, I need you to wake up now. Link, wake up, please." Zelda told him, tears having not reached her eyes yet.

She felt his face, forehead, neck and chest. He was soaked with sweat, and had a fever. She sighed. What would it take?

A small, echoing, whisper startled Zelda. She looked around for whatever form made the sound. She saw no one through the darkness. The entire room looked a like a giant blue shadow. There was no person in the room. She looked back to her brother.

The whisper echoed in her mind again; this time, slower. Zelda looked around desperately, trying to see what could make that sound. There was still no one. She began to feel scared. Something was definitely here with her, but she could not see. Once again, she looked to her brother just to see his face, and then looked back up.

There, directly in front of her, across from Link's bed, she saw a silver gleam that looked like a face. She fell backwards as she screamed. She landed on her butt, her hands keeping her from falling to her back. The figure was still there, standing over Link.

It was a silver face in a black robe. It's eyes…although without color, seemed just like Majora's eyes. It was a mask. Just like Majora's spirit was in a mask, this one must be like Majora.

The thing stood there, seemingly staring at Zelda, who stayed silent except for her heavy breathing in fear. It turned its face, its _head_. Zelda noticed it wasn't a mask, it was a head. It was like a helmet that covered a being's whole head. But the helmet had a terrifying face carved into its metal.

She realized why it turned its head; its whole body was turned. The being walked in small and light steps around Link's bed and in front of Zelda. It towered over her threateningly. It moved what seemed to be an arm, but it was covered by the black robe.

She could not see a hand inside the sleeves. The intricate design of the being's robe caught her eye just before it dissolved. In digital squares, the thing vanished from its head down to its feet up in the ceiling. It was gone.

Zelda's heart was the only sound anything with ears could hear within a mile. The whole world had gone silent, and Zelda sat in the same frozen position, terrified that it would come back. Then there were words.

"I have taken form. A form without a vessel…now to keep my promise."

This terrified Zelda even more. That voice wasn't Majora's voice. It was similar, but not the voice she recognized Majora with.

Link stirred in his sleep again, this time moaning as he tried to wake up. He did wake up, but Zelda did not go to his side. While trying to sit up, he winced at a slight pain in his entire abdomen. He sat up, but he still did not see Zelda due to his hands in his face, holding his head, which also ached.

He must have a headache. Zelda looked at Link. He still hadn't noticed her there. She put her hands in front of her, seeing her tremble in fear. Parts of her body twitched, and she stood up slowly as she shook uncontrollably.

Due to the slight noises she made with her steps and her soft grunt while standing, Link looked at her with confused eyes.

"Zelda? What are you doing here?" Link noticed her shaking and her terrified face, "…Zelda? What happened?" Link asked.

"…who is Zant?" Zelda whispered.

Link felt like he never heard this name. He stared at her in confusion.

Zelda felt like whoever was there in front of her, may be Zant. She heard his name once from Zane and another time…could that have been him? Obviously, Link didn't know.

"Nevermind." Zelda whispered again.

"Zelda, why are you scared? What happened?" Link asked as she slowly made her way to Link.

"Something…something was here. You would not wake up until it left. It was so much like—''

"Zelda? Link?" Nurse Fonda walked in then, "What…? What time is it? How late is it?"

"It's the middle of the night." Zelda told her.

"…What?" Nurse Fonda did not even remember anything that happened that night.

She claims to have never tended to Link that night, and she said she would never make Zelda leave if it would discomfort Link so much.

"I'm so sorry, Zelda. I need to…to sleep now. I feel a little sick. Take care of your brother." Nurse Fonda walked away wobbly.

"…Link," Zelda put her hand on his shoulder, "You need to lie down. You have a fever."

Zelda gave Link a soft push in his shoulder, and he lied down calmly, "Like that's never happened before." Link muttered.

Zelda held his hand and sat next to his bed, almost clinging to him like they had switched places. Link watched her as she rubbed her face against his clammy hand.

"Maybe you should go. I wouldn't want to get you sick." Link told her.

She replied with a shake of her head. She didn't want to leave his side. She didn't want that thing to come back and possibly do harm to him. Whatever it was, it was a solid being with otherworldly powers. It could make Link fall asleep and he would not wake back up, what else could it do?

"Zelda, why did you mention Zant?" Link asked, slightly sitting up against the wall so he could see Zelda better.

"I heard the name…I was wondering…is he the one you've been dreaming of?" Zelda asked.

"…dreaming of? I haven't dreamt of anything. Not…that I remember." Link replied now thinking back of his dreams, "Well…I actually dreamt of one thing."

"What is it?" Zelda perked up, suddenly more interested, yet still fearful.

"A song…that's all. Just a song." Link replied to her.

Zelda could tell he was actually lying, but she went along with it. He wasn't lying about the song, but he _was _lying about "_just" _a song. Zelda didn't bother with it yet.

"…a song? What song?" Zelda asked.

"Just…a song. I don't know what it's called. It's one of those depressing songs that we sing when we loose a friend. I think mother sang it to us once."

"Link?" Zelda hesitated, "Do you think Majora could be reborn?"

"…um…" Link was taken aback by the question slightly. He looked around, as if the room was his mind, searching for an answer, "I suppose he could. He was three different beings before. Majora, Majora's Incarnation, and Majora's Wrath…"

"No, not like that. I mean he can take a completely different form. Link," Zelda stood up and sat next to him on his bed, "What if he became a being like us, not Hylian, but…Terminian or something." Zelda asked.

"Zelda, Majora…" Link stopped himself, "We can talk about this tomorrow if you want. I can see how tired you are." Link told her.

Zelda nodded, and squeezed herself in next to Link and they shared a twin hospital bed together, sleeping. Link made sure not to breathe on Zelda so she wouldn't be sick. And by the time they awoke, Jaden, Hassleberry, Syrus, Bastian, Jim, and Jesse were right there for them. (This included Shirley)

Zelda woke up first to Jaden laughing at something. Surprisingly, Link was still asleep. It's only surprising because Jaden laughs rather loudly, and Link is a light sleeper, although he sleeps in a lot if his surroundings permit it.

"…morning." Zelda smiled at the group.

"Morning, mate." Jim flicked the hem of his hat, showing Zelda all of his face, and then hiding it again.

"How's Link? How're you?" Syrus asked.

"Link is…has a fever and I…" Zelda paused, "I'm okay." Zelda smiled brightly.

"Good to know," Jesse smiled back at her.

"None of you would know anything about Zant would you?"

"Zant?" Jaden repeated.

"Um…I sorta got an idea?" Jesse said. What could he possibly know?

"Where I come from there is a ZANT, but…it's an acronym." Jesse said.

"A real one?" Syrus quizzed.

"Yeah, NT stands for North Texas. That's—''

"That is not what she's talking about. Zelda doesn't know what Texas is." Bastian told Jesse, and Zelda nodded in agreement.

"Never heard of the guy," Hassleberry replied.

"Sorry, mate," Jim replied.

"Does Link not know anything about him?" Syrus asked.

"I don't think so. I asked him last night, and he said…nothing. He just gave me a confused look." Zelda purposely left out the part after that last night.

"I wonder…" Bastian thought aloud, "Could we maybe get information on this Zant online?"

"…maybe?" Zelda shrugged. She had no clue what "online" meant.

Bastian sat himself at Nurse Fonda's desk and accessed her computer. He typed in 'ZANT' and clicked on a search button to start the engine. He asked if he spelled it right, but Zelda wasn't even sure how to spell it in Hylian, but Syrus and Jim agreed that it looked right if it were English.

"Okay…I doubt that will work. Do humans even know about Hylians besides us?" Jaden questioned Bastian.

"Yeah," he answered back, and then quizzed Jaden with, "but what makes you think all the Hylians here are limited to Link and Zelda?"

Jaden shrugged.

"And maybe more humans actually _do _know about Hylians." Syrus suggested.

"They must, I got something…" Bastian said.

"What is it?" Syrus asked quickly, almost too interested.

"Zant…it's a name of some people…it's a…a king of…" Bastian paused, "The usurper king of the twilight realm?" Bastian looked at Zelda with a mixed face of puzzlement, fascination, and worry.

"That sounds like something where I'm from, alright." She said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"…so what else does it say? It sounds intimidating." Jaden asked.

"The twilight…is it like from that one show?" Syrus asked.

"It's a realm, not a zone, Sy." Jesse told him.

Bastian read on with the article about Zant, the usurper king of twilight, "It says here, 'Zant took over the twilight realm, took the crown from its rightful ruler…he became a puppet for his god.' Whoever that is…" Bastian scrolled a bit and cleared his throat, "It is believed that, in legend, Zant will be the one to take over Hyrule. He and his god will forever cast a pall of shadows over the world, making it twilight."

"That sounds crazy." Jim whispered.

"That sounds about _right_." Syrus corrected.

Zelda slightly laughed at Syrus's words.

"Wait," Bastian stopped them from continuing a conversation, "There's something else, 'There is a deeper legend following the story of Majora's spirit. When the chosen one defeats Majora, he will be soaked into a different body. A Twili's body. This is Zant, who holds the spirit of Majora from his god.'" Bastian paused, "What exactly does that mean?" Bastian read silently to himself again.

Zelda knew what it meant though, "It means that Majora's powers, his spirit has left the mask and entered Zant. Only…Zant is more powerful. Whoever his 'God' is, he is the one who took Majora's spirit and put it into Zant's body."

Zelda stood up, waking Link up, and she fixed her clothing back to normal.

"…so, this Zant is like Majora reincarnated?" Jaden asked.

"No, he _is_ Majora now. Just like he did to Link, only…it's slightly different. Zant isn't a vessel. And he's tormenting _me_, not Link."

"…What?" Link suddenly sat up.

"Zant is Majora." Jaden said slowly to himself.

"Are you serious?" Link asked Zelda in horror.

"Yes,"

"Wait, does that make _you_ the "chosen one," Zelda?" Syrus asked.

"You did defeat Majora." Hassleberry added.

"No, it wasn't me; Link is the real chosen one. I'm more like support." Zelda said turning to face the humans.

"How did Link defeat Majora when Majora had him controlled?" asked Hassleberry.

Link looked at Zelda, wanting to know the answer himself, "He was able to get out of Majora's grip. He did not beat Majora necessarily by _dueling_, but Link beat Majora. I just helped him do it is all." Zelda explained.

There was silence in the room then. Every eye was on Zelda, including Shirley's eyes. Zelda looked back at Link and expected him to speak. He did not speak yet. Shirley and Hassleberry broke the silence. They each went insane just for a minute. Jim calmed Shirley down, and Jesse and Jaden held Hassleberry down.

It startled Zelda. Soon enough, they both stopped and looked around the room.

"What just happened?" Zelda asked, still frightened.

"I can explain this," Jim started.

"Oh no…now's the time to stop understanding the world…" Jaden mumbled.

Jesse laughed at him, "Not the world, Jay, just Jim."

"It's really not that hard to understand, if—" Jim stopped himself, "Nevermind," He pulled out a small device with an arrow that swerved back and forth in a yellow and orange area.

Before the yellow was a green and after the orange was a red area. Zelda didn't know exactly what it was, but she was immediately fascinated by it. She walked to Jim to get a closer look at it. It had a human word on it, but she ignored that. She was mostly interested in the arrow part.

"What is it doing?" She asked, getting even closer, causing Jim to step away. He held his arm all the way out.

Zelda ducked under his arm and looked at it while holding his forearm. He was directly behind her. If he tried to bring the device closer to him, Zelda would get closer to him also. She was already close enough.

Jesse quietly laughed and whispered to Jaden, "Look-it that. Jim's sandwiched by girls."

Jaden laughed quietly with him, "Lucky guy…"

Hassleberry joined them, and Jim cleared his throat, "It's a measurement device. It measures electromagnetic waves in the air. It causes animals to…"

"Animals?" Zelda turned around to face Jim, "Hassleberry's not an animal, is he?" Zelda turned to see Hassleberry.

"He has dinosaur DNA." Syrus told her, "he lost a bone while digging for dinosaur fossils, and the doctors used the bone he found at the dig. So he has dino DNA. Pretty cool, huh?"

"…um," Link stopped him, "how do you loose a bone while digging?"

"Oh yeah!" Syrus looked up, remembering the last detail.

"He forgot to say that a rock fell on me. It crushed my bone, so they replaced it." Hassleberry told Link.

Zelda turned to face Jim again, and she was right against his body, and she was trying not to blush, but everyone could tell she was pink, and it made Link uncomfortable. Jim on the other hand blushed with her.

"Um…can I help you?" he asked.

"Where are the waves coming from?" she asked sweetly, swooning over nothing.

Link stood up and pulled Zelda away from Jim by her arm, "Boundaries, older sister. Learn of them."

Jim cleared his throat again, "They are coming from the jungle." Jim told her, "Shirley looses herself every now and again; I have yet to find out what causes them to…" Jim paused, thinking of the correct word.

"Let's just go with, "do what they do", agreed?" Jaden shrugged.

"Hey! Let's go find someone to duel!" Jesse pulled on Jaden's arm, and they both went out, arm and arm as if they were brothers.

This gave Syrus an annoyed look. For some reason, he and Hassleberry went out, too. This left Zelda, Link, Jim, Bastian, and Shirley. Bastian was just surfing online. He hadn't been paying attention to his friends since he found information on Zant. He was then looking up more information on Zant like where he came from, who ruled the twilight realm before him…

Zelda smiled at Jim again, "Link, you should lie back down." She placed a hand on her brother's forehead, "Your fever isn't gone yet."

Link did what she told him without words. She then walked to Jim, and made conversation with him.

"So…this jungle area, found anything in there?" she asked him.

"No, not really. We haven't actually gone down there to…investigate." Jim replied.

"You duel, of course?" Zelda half asked, half requested.

"Um…yes I do. Otherwise I would not be here. I am the best in my school."

"Hmm, wow. That's nice. So…the other day, when I saw Shirley first, you were with that other kid, and I get the feeling I scared you off. I'm sorry about that."

"It's no problem. You didn't scare me at all. I was more confused." Jim told her.

"Oh, so…anyway, I was wondering, would you like to duel?" Zelda asked.

She remembered the closest way to Zane's heart was dueling. The closest way to Atticus's heart was a song, but Jim seemed more like a duelist than an entertainer.

"You want to duel? Alright, mate. We should find the right place, though."

"Let's go outside. Link, I'll be back in a little while to check on you. Bastian, would you be a sweetie and watch him for me?" Zelda addressed.

"Sure thing," Bastian nodded.

Link grumbled something, not meant for anyone's ears, in irritation. It was even muffled by the pillow his head rested on. Link did not watch, but he heard Zelda leave with Jim and his crocodile. He closed his eyes.

Zant…

He dreamt about this guy. Zant haunted one of his dreams. The song was about a fallen soldier. Majora died, and was reborn into this guy. It was all so much to take in at once for Link. He had been tormented by Majora. Now Zelda was being tormented by this Zant…why?

Something horrible, Link knew, was coming. It was coming fast. Link couldn't yet see it, but he knew something was going to happen. Zant is here, and he is powerful.


	9. Earthy Duel and New Infatuation

**A/N: Okay…this sucks quite a lot. I haven't updated in like…40 years because my hard drive crashed. I had to get a new one, and conjure up the dollar to pay for a new word program. It took a while, but here it is, and here you read the next chapter. I am so sorry how long it took me, but better now than never right? I hate discontinued stories. I just want you guys reading to know that I will never discontinue **_**this**_** story. If I die…well that's a bit different, but I am just gonna be late sometimes getting this on. So here we are. Enjoy this chapter. Also, just a quick note, I have gotten slightly better at English writing so this chapter will most likely be significantly better than everything else I have ever done. Now, ENJOY!**

Chapter 9 – Earthy Duel and a New Infatuation

Zelda walks side by side with Jim. Since they have left the nurse's office, they have been looking for a secluded place to duel where they will not be bothered. At least, Zelda was. She wanted to duel with him somewhere where when she won, she could maybe get physical with this handsome boy with the crocodile strapped to his back. A smile teased her lips at the thought of even a small kiss from Jim Cook.

Zelda stops at a cliff that looks over the ocean and the beach. This is the shore that no one comes to. She feels a breeze along her bare skin and hair. She hears Jim clear his throat and she looks at him.

"So, I saw you duel those two tall poppies…Rowds and Jose, was it? Those blokes may have beaten you if Rowds did not forfeit the match. Nevertheless, I am slightly nervous about dueling you. I've never lost before. It is not really that I am planning on loosing, but the match was quite unpredictable." Jim tells her and he places his deck inside his disk, "So…are you ready?"

Zelda smiled and nodded, excited, "Let's duel!"

Jim has wanted to duel this girl since he saw her almost loose to Rowds and Jose, but now he gets to actually do it. A large smile appeared on his face as he thought about the possible outcomes.

Zelda smiles back at him and said, "So…would you like to go first? Or me?"

"You go on," Jim tells her and she almost blushed, thanking him sweetly.

"Alright," She drew the first cards of the duel, and then one other, "For my first move, I summon a Dodongo in DEF mode." (2000) "I place one card face down."

'Dodongo, eh? My lucky day. I did not know she had dinosaur types. This may be very beneficial to me.' Jim thought as he took his standby phase, "Alright mate, I have something for you. First off, I play the spell Fossil Hammer, so I can destroy the highest level monster on your side of the field. Usually there is a second effect, but it is the beginning of the game, you understand, mate." Jim explains as the Dodongo is destroyed, "Next I summon Flint Cragger in ATK." (800) "Attack her life points directly!" Jim points.

"I play my trap. It is called Floor Master, and now your attacking monster is sent to the graveyard." Zelda says.

'Two can play at that,' thought Jim, "I place a facedown card then, and end my turn."

"Great," Zelda drew a card, "for my next move, I summon a Goron in ATK." (2000) "and I place on facedown on the field."

'Place a facedown now? But…it's the battle phase. Why do that? Maybe…it might be Death Sword. I remember seeing that one.' Jim thought.

Zelda points at Jim, commanding an attack from her Goron.

"Now, here is a human trap that is quite similar to your Floor Master. It is called Sakuretsu Armor. It has the same effect as the Floor Master. Say goodbye to your Goron." Jim said.

"I had a feeling this was so. That's why I placed this down. It is a spell called Rod of Seasons. So I get to salvage my Goron for this turn. Unfortunately, he cannot attack you for a second time like usual, though. I place a card facedown and end my turn."

'We both have the same approach to this duel. Defend our life points, no matter the cost. What happens when we can no longer afford this? I have to make a game changeup.'

"Alright. Here it goes." Jim draws aggressively, "Now, I play this handy spell. Fossil Fusion!" Jim's field contains a purple swirl of colors. So I can take a level 4 or lower dinosaur type monster from your graveyard, and fuse it with a rock-type monster in mine. And here, I summon…Fossil Dragon Skullgar!" (2500) "Alright Skullgar, you know what to do!" Jim gestures to Zelda and the massive pile of bones aims right toward Zelda's Goron.

"I play this trap! Elegy of Emptiness. You do remember this one, right? My Goron is safe from your attack. Better luck next time." Zelda tells him.

"On the defensive, eh mate?" Jim smiles, closing his eye.

He opens it again and pulls a card from his hand, "Now I normal summon Shell Knight in DEF mode." (2000)

Finally Zelda lost 500 LP at the summon of this monster, "Hey…why did that happen?"

"When this monster is summoned, you automatically take 500 points of damage." Jim takes one last look at his cards, and says, "I place a facedown and end my turn."

"First off, I play my card Jar of Avarice, so I draw two extra cards." She sighs at seeing the next two cards she sees and smiles, "Alright. First off, I spirit summon Twilit Dragon Argorok in ATK." (2900) "Now attack the Dragon Skullgar!"

Jim ponders on whether or not he should play his trap now. Would it really be beneficial? If he uses Half Life, then the Goron will be able to attack. This way, Jim only would loose 400 LP instead of the latter, 750 LP. And what if Zelda has a power-up card in that hand? That 750 will go up! Jim decided to let it happen.

Jim now has 3600 and Zelda has 3500. Jim has a facedown on his field, and he has a defense: Shell Knight with 2000 DEF. This is equal to Zelda's Goron. And her Argorok has done half of his part. Jim knows he can use the effect of any monster in the graveyards.

This is when Zelda brings the effect up, "Okay…so now, Argorok can adopt any special ability from any monster in our graveyards. So I will use your Flint Cragger. I destroy Argorok and you loose 500 life points." Jim has 3100 LP.

"Very good, Zelda. I suppose I was right to be nervous." Jim chuckles.

"I play the spell Fierceness of the Goron. So now my Goron's ATK doubles. Looks like this duel is over already." Zelda says as the Goron begins to attack.

'Uh oh…thank science that I saved this card.' Jim thought as he played it, "I play this spell, Half Life. So instead of destroying my Fossil, I half his DEF.

"Well…it is a good thing a Goron can attack twice." Zelda says as she commands another attack, 'but I wasted that spell…' Zelda thought, 'Well…maybe not completely.'

Zelda ended up destroying the Shell Knight and now Jim is defenseless, "I would attack again…but you know how it is." Zelda tells him and the Goron's ATK reduced back to 2000.

"My draw!" Jim takes a look at his hand and smiles again, "I play this card, Sample Fossil. I take a monster in your graveyard, so long as it is level 4 or lower, and this monster gains those ATK. I use your Dodongo." (1200)

'Why do that?' Zelda wondered.

"And now, I sacrifice both the Sample Fossil and a different Rock-type monster in my graveyard to special summon Gaia Plate the Earth Giant. Attack her Goron! One other thing you should know, mate. When this monster enters battle with another monster, that other monster's ATK and DEF are halved."

Zelda is left with 1700 LP, 'I could really use a Death Sword right now…' She thought, 'Well I have Sonata of Awakening…' She began thinking of a plan.

"Alright, mate. Your go."

"It's time to wrap things up…she drew a card." She did not try to hide her joy, "Here we go. I play this card, Sonata of Awakening. Good news. I have two in my hand. So I can play them both for the price of one. I sacrifice 900 life points and summon two spirit monsters! Come forth Molgera and Stallord!" (2600 and then 2400) "Attack the—" Wait a minute. Will the same effect take place?

Molgera's ATK are split in half and Zelda looses the duel. No worries!

"I play the spell Song of Double Time. So I get to keep my Molgera if I send my Stallord inside the Doors of Time for three turns. I place one card facedown and end this turn." Zelda says.

"Did you forget?" Jim asks.

"Um…I got a little excited, yes." Zelda tells him, and Jim smiles.

"Well, for every standby phase I take now, I must remove from play one rock-type monster in my graveyard to keep this Gaia Plate. So I will do that, right quick. And now I play another Fossil Fusion spell. This time, I take one level 7 or higher monster from your graveyard and a rock monster from mine. Your Argorok will do. Now I fuse them to create Fossil Warrior Skulking!" (2800) "You do know what this means, don't you?"

"Well, I haven't lost yet, if that's what you are thinking." Zelda winked.

Jim looked down at her facedown. She is right. But what else can Jim really do?

"I will go ahead and make your decision easier for you. Attack or don't…it doesn't matter. Because my facedown is Death Sword. And I play it! Now all cards on the field are destroyed."

"Well, well…look at that." Jim said, "looks like I will just have to start over. And so will you."

**All of your moves are trash. Do something for real like you used to.** Zelda hears in her head. She looks around to her left and right. No…this was really in her head.

"Are you alright, mate?" Jim asks her.

"Did you hear that? That voice?" Zelda asks.

"No…I am sorry." Jim replies.

After a minute of silence, she gestures for Jim to continue with his turn, "Alright, mate…First I play the spell Pot of Avarice. I can take 5 cards from my graveyard and shuffle them in my deck. Now I draw two cards." Jim says and he notices Zelda is feeling quite woozy.

She is swaying back and forth and her hand is on her forehead, "Zelda…are you sure you are alright. We can stop and have a rematch later if you want." Jim lets her know as-a-matter-of-factly.

"No…Just keep…just keep going." She tells him.

"…" He hesitantly continues, "Alright…so I haven't normal summoned yet, so I will go ahead and do that. I summon Uluru's Guardian and place a card facedown to end my turn.

"Right," Zelda slurs, "Okay here I go." She draws, fumbled her hand of cards and fell to her knees, coughing.

Jim ran to her side, making the holograms disappear. It looks like the duel ended in a tie after all. He kneels next to her and places one hand on her shoulder and tries to push her back up. His massive hand covered her entire shoulder, and she groaned in pain.

"Zelda, here…" Jim picks her up and carries her away, "I'm taking you to Nurse Florence." Jim says and he continues forward.

Zelda wakes up to a white ceiling. The windows that show the outside suggest that it is late in the afternoon.

"What's this all about?" A familiar and strong voice asks.

Zelda sits up and sees him. It is Zane. Zane Truesdale…the boy who said he loved her, but now won't treat her right.

"What do you want?" Zelda asks defensively.

"Calm down, Princess. I asked you a question first. Do you just hop onto any and every boy you see that can breathe and duel?" He asked harshly, "I came last year, and found out that you had kissed my best friend Atticus, you come back now, and you have been…_infatuated_ with this Cook explorer since you got here."

"Why do you care? You don't love me. I received your letter while I was in Hyrule. I know what you really think of me…I was just hoping it wasn't true. But I see now…it is true. You don't love me. So I got over it real fast. Jim, he may not know it, he has helped me along the way."

"Let me guess…you care about him now. Do you love him now, too?" Zane asks.

"Why are you this way?" Zelda asked him, "What happened to you? You participated in underground duels and then…you just became evil?"

"That is quite right, Princess."

"Don't call me that anymore! I am not your Princess anymore!" Zelda yelled, "You betrayed that a long time ago!"

"…Did I? Or did you?" Zane asked, walking closer to her.

"You did…I know you did. I'm not stupid, Zane." Zelda said to him, "You broke my heart. I just left you behind. Why are you here? Why do you care that I like someone else?" Zelda asked him.

He sat next to her and grabbed her hand, "I still care about you. Regardless of what you or your brother or what anyone else may think, I still care. I am just…different. And it makes me angry that you don't care enough to talk to me."

"I tried talking to you. You pushed me away. I was crying for you Zane. _Crying!_ And you still said no!" She yelled.

"It wasn't the time or place. If you really want to talk to me, meet me at the docks tomorrow at sunset. Understand?" Zane said as he kissed her hand.

He got up and left silently like a shadow. That is exactly what he is, too. A shadow…

The next morning, everyone wanted to visit Zelda. Jaden and Jesse brought her a tray of food and Hassleberry greeted her with a touch of her shoulder and a smile. Syrus, Jim, Alexis, and Bastian were also all there.

"Good morning, you guys." Zelda smiles, shifting under her blankets and sitting up.

"Hey there, mate." Jim flicked his hat up a bit, "You feeling better today?"

"Much…thanks to you. And thank you Jaden and…other Jaden for the food." This made many of them laugh.

"I guess I'm other Jaden now." Jesse laughs, "It's Jesse, I'm sorry we were never properly introduced." He says, holding a hand out to Zelda.

At first, she just stared, and then she exclained, "Oh yeah!" and she took his hand in a shake, "I'm sorry. We do not usually do this." Zelda said.

Jesse excused it and stepped back as she began to eat, "Where is my brother?" Zelda asks.

"He is sleeping in his own bed in the office." Syrus replied.

"Oh…will one of you wake him up for me?" Zelda requested.

"Sure thing," Jaden gave her a thumbs up and walked out to a different bed.

It is completely silent between them all until Link walks in. He takes a seat next to Zelda on her bed like she did a couple of days ago, "You alright?" he whispers, and she nodded.

"May I have a minute alone with him? You guys just come in when I send for you again?"

No one said a word, just did action. They were alone in the hospital bed, the curtains surrounding them were closed and they began a conversation.


	10. Midna: Princess of Twilight

**A/N: Wow. Thank you all for the reviews. I appreciate every one of you! Now that my hard drive is all fixed and I am not allowed to play Skyrim or Call of Duty anymore, lol…I will be updating much more now. I realize again how much I love Yu-Gi-Oh! And why I wanted to continue with this story and make it in the first place. Please enjoy this chapter as well those of you who still encourage me and stay with me!**

**ArianandXaia**** and azure blue espeon**

**I love you guys! :D**

Chapter 10 – Midna: Princess of Twilight

Zelda was able to be up this very morning, but Link still had a fever. She and he were in Zelda's hospital bed together, talking.

"I lied to you that day. I said I didn't know who Zant was. But…I think I do. I had a dream about him. And everything you said before," Link sighs and coughs, "I think you were right. Majora is now what is known as Zant the Usurper King. Is he a spirit trapped inside a card as well?" Link asks.

"I don't know Link," She puts her arms around him, "Thank you for telling me. Even though you were kinda late," she nudges him with a smirk, "I forgive you. Don't worry, but I don't want to talk about that. I have a…well," Zelda thought, "It isn't a 'more pressing' issue', but I need you to talk to me. Put aside all of your anger and any feelings you may feel. Please, tell me the truth."

"I lied to you once, Zelda. I won't do it again." Link replies, slightly irritated that she would think he would lie again.

It was hard enough the first time to look into her eyes and tell her a straight up lie like that. He felt guilty afterwards. Of all the people to lie to, why Zelda? His sister is the only one who has ever…

Zelda brought him out of his thoughts, "Zane came here last night."

Link was silenced. His thoughts, his words…all gone. The only thing that remained was Majora's left over hatred for the world as the thought of Truesdale made Link's blood boil. Link took a deep breath, remembering what Zelda said before she mentioned Zane.

"He came here…it was actually twilight, and he said some stuff…he wanted me to…" Zelda paused, "Well, he wants me to meet him tonight at midnight at the docks. Should I go? Give him another chance?"

"He sent you a very hurtful letter, Zelda. I don't honestly think that seeing Truesdale would be a good idea."

"And if he apologized?" Zelda asked.

Zane didn't really apologize, but what if he was _going_ to?

Link sighed, "He can't take away words, Zelda. He sent that letter for a reason."

"And I came back to change his mind. It is one reason why we are here." Zelda explained.

"One reason why _you're _here!" Link got out of Zelda's grip and stood up, about to leave the room.

"Link please! Let go of the anger you feel for him, okay? Be more reasonable, please." Zelda sat up and pleaded to her brother.

He stopped and turned ever so slightly, "I like Jim better." Link told her, "In fact, I would rather you chase Chazz Princeton than Zane Truesdale."

Zelda pondered this for a minute, "…ok Link. If you really think that I shouldn't see him, I won't. I just want a real reason. Tell me."

"He broke your heart." Link said without hesitation, "You don't ever give him that chance again to do the same thing." He commanded, looking back at her.

Zelda closed her eyes and nodded, "Okay, baby brother. I won't go see him. Would you send in Jaden? Just Jaden?" Zelda asked him.

"You going to ask him, to?" Link asked.

"No, I…_wasn't_. But I will if I want a different opinion. Thanks for the idea." Zelda waved at Link.

Link rolled his eyes and walked out the closed curtain, ' I should've kept my mouth shut!' He thought.

Zelda waited eagerly for Jaden. Why didn't she think of that? Speak to Zane? Ask Link? What were the possible outcomes? They were either "no" or "no". Asking Link…probably not the best idea. Or…maybe he is right. Maybe someone else would treat her better. If only Atticus was still around…

Jaden walked inside her room with a look of mostly confusion, "Uh…you aren't going to kiss me are you?" Jaden asked.

Zelda was thrown off by the question. Why would he think that?

"…do you _want_ me to?" She asked him genuinely.

Oh man. What do you do when you are in a situation like that? What if he says yes and she punches him in the nose? What if he says no and she starts crying?! Jaden panics and uses her own question against her.

"Well…what do you want me to say?" Jaden asked her, scratching the back of his head.

"No time for this Jaden. Look, I just really wanted to let you know that I appreciate you. You as my friend, and my brother's friend. I know I said it once, and I will say it again. Thank you so much for being my brother's friend when he needed it most. Thank you so much for you friendship." Zelda says.

Jaden smiled sheepishly, "Well, sure. I would've done it for anyone."

"I know, but no one else would do it for my brother. Come here," Zelda commanded.

Jaden looked to see that her arms were wide open. She's going for a hug. He will not turn it down! Trying to remain cool, he strides to Zelda's bedside and hugs her around her torso.

"And here's that kiss you wanted," Zelda placed a small peck on Jaden's forehead and smiled at him, "Would you send in Syrus for me?"

Zelda stood up for this one. She brushed off her gown and tried to keep it covering her legs as much as possible. Syrus came in. It is short Syrus…she smiles at the sight.

"You wanted to see me next?" Syrus pointed at his face with a lazy hand.

Zelda nodded and knelt to Syrus so she could hug him to a point where neither of them will be uncomfortable, "My brother told me earlier how you and he have been getting along. He really likes you, you know?"

Syrus blushed, "Really? Well, you know me…I just sorta go with the flow." He said almost sadly.

"Tell me something Syrus, your brother," at the mention of Zane, Syrus looked up at Zelda in alarm, "he spoke to me yesterday, and…I just wanted to know if…if, well—" Zelda took a deep breath, "he wants me to see him at midnight tonight. Should I?" She asked.

Syrus could tell she was very conflicted, "See Zane? If you want to see him—"

"No Syrus, I need you to tell me what to do. Should I go see him? What's your opinion?" Zelda asked urgently.

"I don't think you should." Syrus told her honestly.

Even Zane's own little brother doesn't want Zelda to see him. Maybe skipping the dock at midnight is a good idea. Who knows Zane better than Syrus? Alexis, maybe?

"Thank you Syrus. Thank you for being our friend." She hugs him again, "Is Alexis out there?"

"_I still care about you. Regardless of what you or your brother or what anyone else may think, I still care. I am just…different." _These were Zane's words.

Even Alexis didn't think it was a good idea to see Zane. That was it. Zelda has decided that she will not see Zane that night.

"Thank you Alexis." Zelda said, "Will you bring Jim in here?"

"Sure thing." Alexis said and she left Zelda be for a second.

When Alexis got outside of the curtain, she noticed that Jesse and Jaden were talking about Zelda…but they were just being boys.

"What does she want with all of us in there anyway?" Jesse asked, "And will I be goin' in there anytime soon?"

"If she does," Jim started, "Don't you give anything a burl. Got it?" He asked almost threateningly.

Alexis was surprised to hear this and gaped.

"What does that even mean?" Jesse asked.

"It sounds like 'give it a whirl'." Jaden said and then began comparing the words out loud, "Whirl, burl, whirl, burl, whirl…yeah. I think that's right."

"Ah, is the pretty girl all yours?" Jesse teased.

Link then cleared his throat loudly, "AHEM! Yeah, overprotective brother! Over here!" He pointed to himself, ignoring the headache throbbing in his face.

"She wants to see Jim now." Alexis said.

Jim shot a look at Jesse that said, "HAHA!" and without a sound or word, he walked into her curtain space. She was sitting on the bed, playing with the sheets.

"Aye, mate. Good morning. Feeling any better?" Jim asked.

"You asked me that thirty minutes ago." Zelda smiled, "It's nice to know you care." Zelda's smile disappeared and Jim took one step to Zelda.

Before she asked what she really wanted to ask, she asked him, "What did my brother yell about out there. I heard his voice. He sounded…not _angry_ but annoyed…"

"Jaden and Jesse are just being drongos together," Jim said, "Like brothers, really." He elaborates.

Zelda still didn't ask what she wanted, instead she commented on his voice and accent, "I love the way you speak. You sound so…nice. Where are you from?"

"I'm from Aussie, mate. That's Australia. Drongos just means they are stupid." Jim told her and she laughed.

At the sound of her laughter, he also chuckled. He walked closer to her and stood next to her.

"You can sit down if you want. I need to ask you something." She said.

Jim accepted her invitation to sit, and he faced her, with Shirley on his back making grunting sounds.

"I hope those are approval." Zelda said, referring to Shirley's grunts, "Anyway," she went on, "Can you tell me something honestly?" She asked right quick.

"Yes, I do want to duel you again." He joked, bringing a laugh to both of their lips.

"That's good. We can do that today, if you don't have anything planned. What I wanted to really ask you though," Her smile evanesced, "Do you like me?"

"Like you? I would say you're my bowl of rice." Jim said, "I mean…I _do_ like you. Why?"

"You like me as…more than a friend, though?" Zelda clarified, afraid that maybe Jim misunderstood.

"Oh," He breathed and looked down, "That…well I—" He stopped when he looked back at Zelda, "I don't know about that. You're a great cobber and a great duelist, but…" Jim hesitated.

"You can be honest with me," she says as if she already knows the answer, "I've been hurt enough to be able to take it. Just tell me." Zelda said.

"Well, Zelda, I—"

Jim is interrupted by Chazz barging in the curtain, "Yo, Zelda. You may want to come check this out."

"Can this wait?!" Zelda asked irritably.

"Sure, if you want the world to end today." Chazz said and left the two alone.

"There's a pressing issue it looks. He wants you to take a squizz at something and it seems important." Jim told her weakly.

"Can you answer me?" Zelda asked desperately.

Jim opens his mouth to speak, but he is rejected by Zelda who got up and left.

'Good job you wuss!' Jim thought.

"What is it?" Zelda askedin the other part of the office.

"It's a card, but it's black. We can't see anything." Jaden said, "Look."

Zelda is handed the card by Jaden, "Okay…why does this pertain to me?"

"There was a note attached to the card by the docks where I found it." Chazz said and he handed Zelda the note, "I don't know anyone else with your name."

Zelda took the note, and she read it to herself first, 'Zelda – I am coming. Have this ready for me when I get there. – A' It was written in Hylian.

"What does it say, Zelda?" Link asked.

"Who is A?" Zelda asked.

"I'm assuming someone's initial? Someone's initial from Hyrule?" Bastian replied.

"Well, of course. It is written in Hylian, but…how did _you_ decipher it?" Zelda looked at Chazz, and Jim came from behind Zelda and joined the conversation.

"I didn't. I copied it in a online drawing site and asked someone else to translate it for me. That is what it says…"

"_What_ does it say?!" Link asked impatiently.

"Zelda – I am coming. Have this ready for me when I get there. – A" Zelda told him and turned back to Chazz, "So…you said by the docks?"

The first thing that came to Zelda's mind was Zane. There is no way this is Zane, though. The person who sent this has an initial of A. Is that even what the A stood for? Maybe it's a last name. Link, however, had a different idea.

"It's Audre." Link said, "Doesn't that make sense to you?"

Zelda looked at Link, stunned. He's right! Who else could it be?

"Audre is coming _back_?" Hassleberry asked, also astonished.

"Who's Audre?" Jesse asked.

"Zelda's boyfriend…" Link stated sarcastically.

"Ex!" Zelda suddenly exclaimed, "He's my _ex_-boyfriend." She looked back at Jim to catch his expression.

At first he was completely confused, but then he calmed down a bit.

"He means nothing to me now. I don't understand why he's coming back here. I told him to leave and never come back last year…so," Zelda looked around at everyone's faces, "I don't know what to say about this, but I did not plan it. Okay? You believe me, don't you?"

"Of course we do." Hassleberry told her confidently, "do you have any idea why he might come back?"

"No. Not a single clue."

"So what's that card? There's nothing on it. No writing…you can't even tell if it is a monster, spell, or trap." Jaden said.

Zelda studied it intently, "I have no clue. I am so sorry." Zelda said.

Link began to cough and he tucked himself into his bed and relaxed his aching back, "So…Audre is coming here. Alright. I suppose Majora isn't after his soul this year, everything will be fine. Until he gets here, you should see if you can figure out that card." Link yawned and stretched.

Zelda continued to study the card and she held it flat in her palm as she looked back at everyone's faces. Alexis took her friend's arm and led her outside.

"We are going back to the dorm. Talk to you boys later." Alexis waved and received waves back from her other friends.

After they were gone, almost every face in the room turned to Jim. He held his chin in his hand and was looking to the tiles, trying to think…trying to make sense of everything that just happened. Zelda…she _had_ a boyfriend, then she reunited with Zane. She was with Atticus for a while after being here for the first time while still apparently in a relationship with this Audre. Maybe she isn't such a good idea.

He looked up when he noticed a single pair of eyes on him and he then noticed that everyone was watching him, including Link. Link seemed very hostile, but Jim doubted this little boy could hurt him. Jim shrugged at them, asking for an explanation.

"What did she say to you?" Jesse asked as Chazz left the room completely.

Link turned over on his bed and just lied there, listening to the conversation from his bed, "Yeah, I saw your reaction when Link mentioned Audre was her boyfriend. You like her, don't you?" Hassleberry asked, crossing his arms.

"Why is this so important for you to know?" Jim asked defensively.

"We are just curious, man." Jaden told him innocently.

"I'm not…" Bastian chimed.

"Just tell us, Jim. Do you, or do you not?" Jesse finally asked.

"Well, I was thinking about it, but I don't think it's a good idea to…I don't know…be _with _her?" Jim explained, questioning his own logic, "…I guess."

"So you aren't going to be," Jesse tried to find the right words, "all cuddly together?" He asked with uncomfortable hand gestures and wide eyes.

"No. That won't happen." Jim told them.

Link turned over on his bed again, "Why?" He asked Jim.

Jim sighed and did not really want to tell her brother what he was honestly thinking, but Link guessed it anyway.

"You afraid she'll do the same thing to you, right? Juggle you along with two other boys, right?" Link asked harshly.

This silenced the room. Everyone was surprised that Link would say that in such a mean way. Jim sighed again in defeat.

"That's exactly what I was thinking. I don't need girls, anyway. Not when I got Shirley, here." Jim smiled as he gestured to the giant reptile on his back, "No offense to you, though, mate."

"I know…" Link said to Jim and rolled over again so his back was to the crowd of people, "You all think that about her. You know nothing about her before assuming. It's okay though. I don't expect you to be any different from the rest of the world." Link replied and closed his eyes.

No one said another word the whole time. They just left. Syrus was last. He took one last look at Link and left the room.

Zelda and Alexis were sitting in Zelda's room together when Alexis asked her, "What's going on?" she asked almost accusingly.

"Um…Jim doesn't really like me that much, I can tell. And now I think he _really_ dislikes me." Zelda said sadly.

It wasn't what Alexis was expecting to hear from Zelda. She wanted to know more about what is going on with Zelda's mind. Maybe rejection from a giant and handsome Australian boy was messing with her mind, but she meant what was going on with Zant…

Alexis didn't mention this, because Zelda started crying. She took her friend into an embrace and held her tight.

"I know exactly what he's thinking…it's what Zane said to me, too. I always jump on boys' bones! But it's not true, Alexis. And now I have this stupid—!" Zelda tried to take off the bio-band but it was hooked on tight, "And he won't leave me alone! He totally made me collapse in the middle of a duel!" Zelda sobbed, hitting her head with her bare wrist, "What do I do?!"

Alexis continued to hold Zelda and sighed. What's going to happen now? She knows Zelda was referring to Zant. So now what…? Alexis can only think of one thing. It's the end of the world soon.

The card that had the letter attached to it fell from Zelda's grip and Alexis looked down at it. It was still black. As Alexis's gaze did not leave the card, though, it began to change. At first, Alexis closed her eyes tight and looked back at it. Nothing. Alexis sighed in relief, and then it happened again! The black began to turn blue around the edges. Then…there was a picture.

"Um…Zelda?" The card completely manufactured itself.

Zelda looked up and followed her friend's gaze. To her surprise, the card had a picture on it. She sniffed and wiped her tears with her arm and she picked up the card. It is another Hylian card…and it is a very powerful one.

"What does it say?" Alexis asked, not being able to read Hylian.

"Midna…the Twilight Princess." Zelda said.

"Twilight Princess? Like…the _Realm_ of Twilight? The Princess of _that_ place? That Bastian mentioned a while back ago?" Alexis asked.

Zelda nodded. This is a sign. Audre knows what's coming! And he'll be here in a few days. Maybe Audre is the only one who can help them defeat this new Majora, and the evil behind the masked one: Zant.


	11. Rematch With Jim Cook Pt 1

Legend of Zelda! GX: Awakening of Shadows

Chapter 11 - Rematch With Jim Cook

Zelda had been feeling better later that day and she had luckily ran into Jim Cook. She is not upset by him anymore, but Jim was quite nervous about talking to her, because he didn't want to deal with any of the female drama that he knows can be inevitable sometimes.

"Hi, Jim." Zelda greeted him with a big smile and then she leaned over and touched Shirley's paw, "Good day, Shirley."

Shirley wiggled in approval, and Jim smiled at her reaction, "G'day." Jim told Zelda.

"So…" Zelda pulled out her deck, "I believe we owe each other a rematch. What do you say, James?"

Jim smiled wide at her challenge. Was this all she wanted? He could live with that being the only issue. He nodded and put his deck inside his duel disk.

"You're on!" Jim told her.

They both walked out of the academy and dueled away from the academy, but not away from an audience that may or may not want to inspect.

"Would you like to go first, mate?" Jim asked her.

It's like they were just good friends again. What is it Jim called her before? A cobber? That's what they are! They are good cobbers!

"Sure," Zelda said as she drew her first card.

This did not surprise her or Jim, but Jaden noticed immediately after winning a duel with some obelisk over 'there'. He quickly gathered all the friends he could so he could watch the duel with them.

"Alright, for my first move, I summon an Ampilus in DEF mode." (2000) Zelda places a lobster-like thing with electricity coming out of its giant snail-shell on the field and it scoots inside of the shell, turning blue.

"I place one card face down and end this turn." Zelda said with a smile.

"Going with different cards this time, eh mate?" Jim asked.

"You just haven't seen all of my decks. I have multiple. I have every Hylian card made so far." Zelda smiled, "So does my brother." She added.

"Right, well, here I go." Jim drew, 'Hmm…I may want to approach this game a bit differently. She is going to have to attack sometime, and I have no cards that I can summon right now higher than 2000 in ATK,' Jim thought, "I play this fellow, Uluru's Guardian in DEF mode as well." (2300), "And I place a card facedown to end my turn."

"What is this, a DEF battle? Someone attack someone!" Jaden cheered.

'What is he up to?' Zelda thought as she drew a card from her hand, 'That is not what I was expecting him to do.' She looks at her hand, "Ok, James. I summon up this pretty dragon for the price of 400 life points. Volvagia!" (2400) "Now attack Uluru's Guardian!"

Jim lets this happen, and takes no damage. He is now defenseless, and expects Zelda to attack him with the Ampilus after switching it to ATK mode. His expectation were met, and Zelda tried to attack Jim directly with the Ampilus's attack of 1200 points. Jim has a trap, however.

"I play my trap. It's called Uluru's Guardian Spirit. Now that you have destroyed my Uluru's Guardian, like I knew you would, and you have attacked me with your Ampilus, you triggered this trap. This trap card serves as a monster for this turn in DEF with 2500 points of DEF, and your attack is redirected to this card." Jim explained.

Zelda's eyes widened in realization. As the Ampilus turned around and attacked the card instead, Zelda lost 1300 LP! Jim was still full, and she had 2300 left.

"Way to go Jim!" Hassleberry yelled from the crowd.

She was able to keep the Ampilus, but it was now in attack mode, which left her open for an attack. Zelda sighed in frustration. Maybe Zant is right…all of her moves _are_ faltering majorly. What else can she do though? Isn't she trying her best?! This was so frustrating for Zelda, and Jim could tell.

"Hey, mate? Everything alright over there? You seem irritated." Jim asked her genuinely.

Zelda looked up and smiled, "I'm fine Jim. Don't worry...now, to end my turn, I place one facedown."

"Alright then, draw!" Jim looked at his hand and moved one of his cards within his hand, "I play this card! Weathering Soldier!" (2000) "Attack that Ampilus!" Jim commanded with a point of his finger.

"I play my trap! It's called The Dark Mirror! You will take a hit at my life points, but this card replicates a dark version of your attacking monster and it can attack you directly!" Zelda explained as she lost 800 LP.

She now has 1500, and a full 2000 hit Jim's LP directly.

"Man, she sure is losing a lot of life points right now." Jesse said, "At least she finally got to Jim, even if it wasn't…ya know traditional." He put a finger to his chin in thought.

"You know what," Jaden started, "Zelda is dueling kinda weird."

"I see it too." Syrus said, confused, "What's going on in her head to make her duel so…lame?"

"And I place one facedown and end my turn." Jim said with a slap of a card on his disk.

During his end phase, Weathering Soldier lost 600 ATK and was currently 1400.

"Alright. Here I go," Zelda drew a card and sighed, "I play this spell Sonata of Awakening, so I pay 900 life points," now she has 600.

"Why would she do that?" Bastian asked in complete wonder.

Zelda continued, "And I play this Spirit monster…The Monstrous Helmaroc King!" (2700) "Now before I attack, I play this spell, Seal of the Four Sword! Your facedown is locked and cannot be played this turn!" Zelda said fiercely, "attack Helmaroc King!"

The giant bird cawed and with its sharp talons, destroyed Weathering Soldier, doing 1300 points of damage! Now his LP is at 700.

"Oh wow! That was a great comeback!" Jaden exclaimed, "Who knows? Maybe she'll win this thing, yet! A duel isn't over 'til the last card is played!" Jaden encouraged with a fist in the air.

"Maybe it was worth it, but Jim is still in the lead." Jesse said, still thinking.

"Yes, but Zelda still hasn't normal summoned anything yet. If she summons something like a Goron, and she attacks with it, this duel will be over because of that Four Sword spell." Bastian explained.

Jesse nodded in agreement, and Zelda looked closely at her hand.

"Well, mate. It seems I may have underestimated you." Jim said to her with a smile, "I assumed you would duel like you did before. You have truly stepped up your game."

"Thank you," Zelda said with more a pained expression than anything and she normal summoned a Beamos in DEF (1000), "I end this turn." Both the Helmaroc King and the spell card were sent to her graveyard.

"Alright then, mate," Jim draws a card, "Here we go. I play this familiar spell Fossil Fusion! I use my Weathered Soldier and your Ampilus to create this monster, Fossil Warrior Skullnight." (2400) "Attack her Beamos Skullnight!" Jim commanded.

Zelda allowed the monster to attack her Beamos. Jim was smiling as the monster came back to his side of the field.

"What's funny?" Zelda asked.

"Skullnight can attack twice, and you're wide open." Jim said, "It was a good duel, but attack Zelda's life points directly!"

After the impact, Zelda was still standing with her 600 LP, and a flipped up facedown that was dragging the Skullnight into the ground, "You remember the floor master, do you not?" Zelda smirked at Jim as the Skullnight disappeared, "Now _you're_ defenseless!"

Jim smiled at her and nodded, "Not quite. I may still do a normal summon. You remember my Shell Knight!" He summons this in DEF (2000), "He takes 500 life points when summoned."

"Oh no! Zelda has 100 life points left. She'd better think of a game plan before this is all over."

Zelda grimaced at the loss of her LP and she looked up at Jim with a determined face, "You've won." Zelda whispered to herself, "but I will not stop fighting." Jim ended his turn and she drew a card, "Alright. Here's my next move. I summon a Lizaflos in ATK!" (2200) "Attack the Shell Knight!"

"I play my trap! You remember Sakuretsu Armor, mate?" Jim said, almost mocking Zelda like when she played Floormaster.

That was exactly how it happened in their last duel, too! She gritted her teeth beneath her lips and watched as the Lizaflos was destroyed.

"Great…" Zelda said, "Now that you've done _that_ I can special summon reinforcements. Good luck with this one!"

Zelda pulls a card from her deck and places it on the duel disk. From the card hologram on the field, black mist came from the card and it surrounded the entire place. Luckily, it was not a Shadow Duel…yet at least. Zelda shook her head violently.

'Get out of my head!' She thought.

**Are you sure you don't want to punish him? Not even a little? For belittling you like he did? For **_**rejecting **_**you? Doesn't that make you angry? Embrace the darkness within me, Zelda.**

Zelda ignored the evil voice in her head and watched as the card materialized into the shape of a slender person, "What's going on?" Syrus asked frightfully.

"Let me explain," Zelda said, "when you destroyed my Lizaflos, I was able to special summon this monster from my deck so long as I remove from play all the cards in my graveyard. Allow me to introduce you to this one: Demon Lord Ghirahim in ATK." (?)

"How do you determine his ATK and DEF?" Jaden asked.

"All of the cards I have removed from play are absorbed by this demon lord, and the sum of the ATK and DEF are his to claim." (That's 9000 ATK and 6800 DEF)

"Woah! That's a lot of ATK!" Syrus said panicked.

"Yeah, looks like the duel's over." Hassleberry said, "I guess that means Zelda would be able to beat me in a duel, too. I want to see Zelda and Jaden throw down."

Jaden looked back at Hassleberry with wide eyes, "Awesome idea! Why didn't _I _think of that?!"

"I call dibbs! I wanna duel her first!" Jesse yelled quickly.

"Fine, I'll duel her after you!" Jaden and Jesse agreed.

"The catch, though, is that he cannot attack this turn, so I place a facedown and end my turn." Zelda said.

Jim had gone tense, and relaxed when she said that. He swallowed and thought, 'Good. I have one last chance to beat her. If I don't…it's over. How though, can I defeat that massive hunk of ATK?' Jim looked down at his hand and drew a card.

"Alright then…Here goes…!"

To be continued….

**Alright! So what's gonna happen? Any ideas? Anyone? I know what's gonna happen next…Next time on LoZ! GX: AoS! :D**


	12. Rematch With Jim Cook Pt 2

Chapter 12 – Rematch with Jim part 2

Link escapes his hospital bed prison to go outside. Zelda had been quiet for some reason. He didn't understand why, so he decided to go and look for her. She wasn't too far away from the academy, thankfully.

He wrapped up his body tight in his white blanket that he took with him. That fever hasn't let up too well yet, and he feels cold, despite the warm weather. Zelda was at the end of the long stone ground leading to duel academy. She was dueling Jim. His face immediately fell when he noticed Ghirahim on the field.

Is she insane?! Why would she summon that? It would be just as bad almost as summoning Majora! No…_worse_! Link was still not aware that Zelda had, in fact, summoned Majora before in the tag duel after he lost.

He watched at a distance at first.

Jim had one last chance to save himself this duel. Maybe he'll prevail. He could only hope so as he drew a card. A smile teased the corners of his mouth.

"What did you draw?" Zelda asked him, slightly shaken at his reaction.

Jim places a card facedown and then Pot of Avarice, "You do remember the Pot of Avarice, right?" he asked.

Zelda nodded, recalling. Jim took 5 cards from his graveyard and shuffled them back within his deck. He then drew two more cards from the top of his deck.

Zelda has 100 LP, and Jim has 700 LP.

"And now for my battle phase," he says, "I flip summon my monster from before. This is Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo. So no monsters may be special summoned, and any monsters that have been special summoned previously are destroyed."

The Demon Lord Ghirahim is then destroyed. His special ability could not save her this duel. Usually, he cannot be destroyed, but that's only in battle, and this was by card effect. She sighs and smiles. Jim is truly an exceptional duelist.

"Yeah! Good job Jim! Just saved yerself some serious neck pain!" Jesse cheered.

Link was impressed with Jim. He actually got rid of the Demon Lord…hmm…if Jim wasn't human, he could be the potential hero of legend, having destroyed Ghirahim so easily.

"You know what is next, Zelda…" before Jim could even declare an attack at Zelda's LP, she played her facedown in a hurry.

"This one is called Wall Master, so as long as I discard two cards from the top of my deck, I can destroy one card on the field. Nothing prevents this from happening."

"Wow, this duel is full of counters. I just can't wait for someone to win!" Jaden said.

Zelda smiles, relieved that she has delayed the inevitable again.

"I place a facedown and end my turn then, mate." Jim said, slapping another card on his duel disk.

Zelda takes a look at her hand, "I play my Jar of Avarice, so I draw two cards and now I summon this little guy to the field."

Maybe she can win! Unless he pulls off another remarkable move, this is her victory! This turn will truly get it! On Zelda's field, a Deku Scrub holding a flower in its petite hand showed up in ATK, (200).

"Why that thing? She can't win this duel with that." Jesse said.

"I know what she's doing," Bastian told Jesse, "She's being strategic. Literally, both side are almost out of moves, but I have a feeling I know exactly what is going to happen."

Zelda attacked Jim directly, and he played his facedown, Sakuretsu Armor.

"Very well. While my Deku is now gone, and in my graveyard, I may summon a Spirit Monster in ATK from my hand. And what the perfect monster…"

"She won!" Bastian exclaimed, "I knew it!"

"Good duel, Jim!" Jesse called out.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down. She hasn't even played the monster yet!"

"I summon The Parasitic Armored Arachnid: Gohma." (1900) "Attack Gohma!"

Finally…a victory! A victory the _right_ way…Zelda smiles as Jim loses the match, and they both instantly become very tired and fall to the ground. Link joins Zelda's side and tries to wake her up.

"This has been happening a lot lately." Syrus said as everyone did their part to help the two students to the infirmary.

Zelda woke up in the familiar hospital bed. She sat up to take a look around. Link was right next to her, sleeping. With her hand, she removed a piece of his thick blonde hair from his eyes. The slight change in his sense of feeling woke him up. He blinked a bit before noticing Zelda and smiled at her.

He struggled to sit up and he yawned, "Are you feeling better?" Link asked her, stretching.

Zelda nodded and asked, "How about you? You still have a fever?"

Link shook his head, "It's almost gone. Nurse Florence said I can go back to class tomorrow."

"Oh, that's good then." Zelda smiled at Link and he rubbed his head.

"Um…you summoned Ghirahim." Link mentioned.

Zelda said nothing, just waited for him to start getting angry. Surprisingly, he wasn't. Link was only confused.

"Why would you do that? You realize if you lost control you could've killed Jim and yourself and every spectator, right?" Link asked her cautiously.

"Of course I knew. But if I can control Majora, I can control Ghirahim." Zelda told Link.

This statement made no sense to Link whatsoever, but he refused to be angry with her, "What do you mean, "control Majora"?! Even if you could, Zelda, Ghirahim is much more powerful. You _do _realize that, don't you?" Link asked, raising his voice.

"I summoned Majora. At the beginning of the year, our duel with Rowds and Jose. I summoned him after you…left." Zelda said to him.

"You _summoned_ Majora? To the field? That could have destroyed the school!" Link yelled.

"Link, calm down, love. I can handle it. I am strong enough." Zelda said to him, taking his arm in her hand.

Link sighed, "I suppose…" He took deep breaths, "Look, just…be more careful. I of all people should know that arrogance can seriously get you hurt. Don't do the same things I did, Zelda."

"I know, baby brother. I appreciate you looking out for me." She smiled sweetly.

Link smiled back, a real smile and he lied down on his back. He began to hum songs and Zelda just lied down and listened to his soothing voice. The song is the Song of the Hero of Legend. It is very familiar to all of Hyrule. The hero is practically worshipped like a deity. If only they could find him. Hyrule really could use a hero right now.

The Hero of Time. He is said to be the only Hylian ever to be able to possess the one and only card – The Blade to Evil's Bane, also known as The Master Sword. He finished the song, and began to sing something completely different, before slowly fading out into sleep. Zelda looked at him as soon as he was quiet and giggled silently when she saw that he fell asleep singing.

He must be exhausted still. How much sleep had he been getting anyway? Zelda closed her eyes, and was ripped from her shell and thoughts when a voice brought her back to the fear of reality. She jumped at the sudden sound, and saw that Zane was at the foot of her bed. What had he just said, though? What was that?

"Zelda?" He asked coldly.

Zelda looked back at him, "What are you doing here?"

"You didn't meet me yesterday. I was sure you were going to, but then I heard what happened…" Zane trailed off.

"Yeah, well…I probably wasn't going to go see you anyway." Zelda told him defiantly.

"Is this the advice from little brother?" Zane asked gesturing to Link.

"Yes, actually, it was. It was also from Alexis, and _your_ little brother. These three people, I trust the most when it comes to _you._" Zelda said harshly.

"Hmm," Zane almost chuckled, "I want a duel." He said to Zelda suddenly.

"…Sorry. I have a duel appointment with Jesse Anderson and Jaden Yuki. I might squeeze you in—" Zelda wanted him to go away.

"I want a duel," Zane repeated, "Be at the base of the mountain tomorrow afternoon." He basically commanded her.

This infuriated Zelda, "No!" She said almost too loudly, "I won't! I don't want to see you, and I won't!"

"One duel," Zane said, holding up his index finger, and then he pointed it at Link, "Either with _you _or with _him_."

"Link beat you once…" Zelda said in thought.

"No, I did not lose to _this_ one. Ever. So, who will it be? Before you decide, you may want to ask little Syrus how a duel with me works…" Zane dropped his hand, looking back and forth at Link and Zelda, "I will get that duel. And I will enjoy watching you suffer."

Zane turned and left the room in ice. Link had been awake since Zelda asked what Zane was doing in the room. He heard the whole thing, pretty much. He looked at Zelda, who was staring at her lap.

"Let me duel Truesdale." Link told her.

Zelda looked at Link, and he noticed a tear forming in her eye, "I don't know, Link. I think Zane is…I think he wants to do something…something to hurt us. I mean literally. I don't want that for you."

"And you think I want it for you?" Link asked her accusingly.

"Of course not!" She cried, "I just…there's something wrong with him! This isn't Zane! You knew him, last year, you were okay with Zane. Now he's so different. I don't want to take the chance that he wants to...I don't know, have a _Shadow Duel_ with one of us. If one of us should go through that, it's me. _I'm _ the one that needs to settle things with Zane."

"Zelda—"

"I am the older sibling, what I say, goes!" Zelda yelled suddenly.

"Yeah, but you're also female, and not always the most reasonable between the two of us." Link stated, "Look, if Zane hurts you, you realize what's going to happen to _him,_ don't you?"

"Link, please…this yelling is giving me a headache." Zelda placed a hand at her head and rubbed her temple with her fingertips.

"I'm sorry…I can't let you duel him." Link said, "Let _me_ do it, Zelda. Alright?"

Zelda looked at him, "First, we should ask Syrus about how he duels. You heard that part didn't you?" Zelda asked, receiving a nod from Link.

"Ok…Agreed."

Later that morning, Jaden, Syrus, Hassleberry, Alexis, Bastian, Jesse, Jim and Shirley met up with the siblings in the hospital room. Zelda was brushing her hair through her fingers, and Link was watching her. Jesse and Jaden came in together first, exclaiming that they had snacks. They were goldfish, at this, Zelda's face turned to horror.

"You eat your pets?" She asked, getting laughs from most everyone in the room except Link.

"Look, they're crackers…" Jesse held them out to her.

"Are they any good?" Zelda asked.

"Crackers are just a form of bread. These are made with cheese, and then salted." Bastian told her.

Zelda picked one up and put it in her mouth, liking it instantly, "It's so good!" Then she took a handful from Jesse's huge carton box of goldfish crackers.

Link asked for one, too and he eventually grabbed a handful as well, "Wow, I feel like I haven't eaten in a day!"

"They are so good, right?!" Jaden said, holding them up, then consuming them.

Everyone looked to Jim, who is the only one who hasn't eaten one yet. Jesse pours them all in a shell-shaped bowl on a table at the foot of Link's bed. They all encourage Jim to take some, and he eventually does, leading everyone in the room to cheer loudly.

"So, Zelda…" Jesse started, eating some goldfish, "How's 'bout that duel we discussed?" he asked her.

Zelda laughed, "Not today, Jesse." Zelda's attention went to Syrus, "Hey, Sy, can I ask you something?"

"Uh…yeah, sure." Syrus shrugged, wondering why she would even ask.

"Your brother, Zane…" at his name, everyone was dead silent, "He challenged one of us to a duel," Zelda gestured at herself and Link, "How do duels with him go lately?"

Syrus looked at his feet, pained deeply at the memory. No one said anything. No one chimed anything in, just waited for Syrus to be ready. After a while with no response, Link began to speak.

"Look, Sy, if you aren't okay with telling us—"

"That's not it at all." Syrus looked right back to Link, "I just don't like remembering," Syrus said solemnly.

Jaden patted his friend on the shoulder, "Hey, we're all here for you, buddy."

"Well, the duels usually ends with him winning, and the loser in a lot of pain from electric shocks." Syrus recalled his memory, and clutched at his chest, "It still hurts…"

"Electric shock? What do you mean?" Link asked.

"He hooks himself and his opponent up to weird chokers and wrist bands. Every time you lose life points, you get shocked by these things…and you can't take them off 'til the duel is over." Syrus explained, wiping his eyes before any tears even arrived.

"I'm sorry I brought it up Syrus…" Zelda said.

"Don't duel him; it'll only end badly." Syrus begged.

Zelda and Link looked at each other, 'What if we don't?' She thought.

Link was thinking the same thing. But then again, what can Truesdale do outside of a duel? Link has never had the pleasure of beating _Zane Truesdale_ to a pulp. Maybe this would be a good time…

"Okay, Syrus. We won't." Zelda said, not really sure if it was true or not. Zane wants a duel _today_. Can that even happen? Both of the siblings are in hospital beds. Besides, what does Zane really want? Surely it isn't to pick a petty fight. Although, Zelda has been wrong about Zane plenty of times in the past.

She spotted Jim, watching her think. She pulled her hair back and smiled at Jim warmly. Who needs Zane anyway? Jaden and Hassleberry took Syrus outside to calm down a bit, and Jesse felt out of place there on his own, so he left as well. Bastian was just sitting down on a chair, looking at his PDA, doing something on it…Zelda stood up and went to Alexis first.

"Do you have something I could use to tie this back?" She whispered to Alexis, holding her hair behind her shoulder.

Alexis grinned, "You look great," She whispered back, and Zelda went to Jim with a confident smile.

"Could I talk to you privately?" She asked Jim, who replied with a nod.

Zelda took a blanket with her and wrapped it around her. Now for this talk…she sighed. Jim took a seat on a chair and Zelda sat across from him.

"So, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for yesterday. And I had fun dueling you." Zelda grinned.

Jim smiled back and closed his eye, "So did I, mate. And don't sweat yesterday. It was no deal at all."

"Well, it was _a_ deal…I was just kind of…well, I was afraid of what you thought of me. I know now, but…I want you to know when I first came here, I had no idea Zane was going to be at _this_ Duel Academy. And Audre was already supposed to be out of the picture when I met Atticus."

Jim swallowed. This is that talk…oh no. Well, maybe this will work out for the better. Besides, _she's_ trying to work things out between them. Maybe this will just be mutual friendship, and that's it. Hopefully, that's it…

"I'm okay with not being…I don't know…a "more than a friend" type of girl to anyone…" Zelda said with a sigh, "I just don't want you to think negatively of me, James." She said to him in defeat.

"I don't," Shirley wiggled in agreement, making Jim laugh, "I don't think negatively of you, Zelda. I never did, I think you just kind of scared me off a bit when we first met is all." Jim blinked.

If he had two eyes, Zelda would like to think he winked. At the thought, she giggled, "Alright, that's good. But I would never…well, _if _we were going to—" Zelda shook her head, "I would never _betray _you…I guess." She smiled.

Jim nodded in acknowledgment, 'I have no doubts."

Zelda smiled and decided to make a bold move. That move that she always pulled on boys to make them like her a bit more. She sat next to Jim and kissed his cheek, then leaning on his shoulder.

"It also helps that my brother likes you. It's easier for me to like someone when he does." She told him.

This confused Jim, "I was pretty sure your kid brother didn't like me at all. Not that I care so much. Shirley's never even met him. I mean, he looks so…hostile to people." He explained.

Zelda looked up at his eye, "He likes you, Jim. Trust me, he is just shy, and he has a hard time showing how he feels a lot."

"I've heard he has no problems with showing aggression." Jim said quietly.

"That one is true. That's only a defense mechanism though. He acts so aggressive to people he doesn't know to keep himself from getting hurt. I know it's wrong, but that's his method. Maybe Shirley should meet Link. He likes animals, too. That must be a family trait." Zelda giggled.

"I suppose…" Jim looked down at Zelda, who closed her eyes and relaxed on Jim's arm, imagining sheep.

**A/N: So finally! Word is working once again, and here is the chapter! (Just so you guys know, **_**NO**_** relationship between Zelda and any boy in this fic will last). Just so yall know. This isn't a romance story, this is a duel story! These are just complimentary side stories. Hope yall enjoy! And if not, let me know and I'll end it immediately. If you think I should add something more, shoot. I am way open minded when it comes to FF!****H**


	13. Link VS Zane

**I thank God for Microsoft word working again. And **_**you**_** guys should thank me, for deciding to write more often. I won't be moving for another few months. Maybe I can get this story completed by then? But who knows? I'm not rushing anything! Enjoy!**

LoZ! AoS Chapter 13 – Link VS Zane

Link was up and excited to finally be back in a Ra Yellow uniform. He walked the halls of Duel Academy. They were deserted, but that's because school is out of session at night. The truth is, he's walking all around Duel Academy, waiting for Zane. No one went to go duel him yesterday, but no matter what Syrus or Zelda or anyone says, Link wants nothing more than to end this.

If he can beat Zane, maybe he'll leave and never come back. Link can only hope. If he doesn't show his face inside Duel Academy like he has in the past, Link will just have to go out and look for him. Something stopped Link in his tracks. He looked around. To his left, through a door, there are voices. The two that are in there definitely are not trying to hide.

One is a boy, high pitched French accent. The other is a girl with a concerned and caring tone. What were they talking about in there? Link pressed his pointed ear against the door and could hear every word perfectly, thanks to the Goddesses.

"…please, Marcel? You have to eat _something_." The girl said.

If he needs to eat, why wouldn't he do it in the cafeteria? Why in a classroom? And also, why so late at night? It's almost eleven at night.

"I'm just not hungry, Blaire." The little French one said.

"You haven't eaten all day, besides, how else are you going to grow to be a strong man?" She asked him.

Link rolled his eyes and left the area. He went outside and followed the lights out of the academy building. Then, he quickly slid down the cliff near the rocky shore and ran toward the docks. That is a common area for Zane to stand, Link knew. When Link got to a place near the docks, he saw a boat on its way to Academy Island. He then noticed a figure standing on the docks.

It walked from the edge to the land, then it made a movement like turning to look back at the boat. Then it turned to look at Link. It must be Zane. Who else would it be? Link began to walk toward the docks cautiously. He is not afraid of Zane, but his heart was beating rapidly, and he felt the fear from his chest well up and try to drown him. Why was he feeling this fear? It was completely foreign to Link!

Well…not really. Link came very close to the docks, and noticed that it was Zane who was the figure, just as Link suspected.

"You're late." Zane said as soon as Link was in earshot.

Link stopped in front of Zane, and he looked up at Zane with determined eyes, "You want that duel or not, Truesdale? I'm here now, only because I wasn't going to leave the infirmary just so I could pummel you into the ground."

Zane laughed menacingly and pulled his duel disk out, ready to duel, "Good luck with that, Hylia."

Link's duel disk was already on his right wrist, and the two took their decks from their safe places around their waists, and placed them inside the duel disk. Before they were actually ready to duel, Zane pulled something else out. A small box.

"I duel a bit differently than you remember, Hylia. Now, I duel with these…" Zane threw a ring at Link.

Link was able to catch it in his hands, and he examined it. It was a black ring with red bulges at every ninety degree.

"What is this?" Link asked him, half curious, half angry.

"They are called electrodes." Zane tossed a few more at Link, "Wear them around your neck, arms and ankles, and then we will start this duel!"

Link caught the other four with his hands, having put the other one around his forearm. He looked at them again, then back at Zane. Zane had already hooked them on his ankles and arms, now he snaps the biggest one on his neck.

"…Why?" Link asked, "What do they do?"

"Put them on…and I'll tell you." Zane smirked evilly.

When Link put the ones on around his ankles, Zane began, "The electrodes are programmed to give an electric shock every time we take damage. So when our life points go down, the pain starts. The higher the number, the worse the shock.

Link's eyes widened, "That's morbid." He whispered in disbelief, and then pulled on the one around his neck, not trying to get it off, but trying to loosen it.

"Don't bother trying to get them to come off. That won't happen until the duel is over." Zane lifted his duel disk and drew his first five cards.

Link nodded, and drew his first five: Spirit Keeper, The Twilit Igniter Fyrus, Poe, Shell Blade, and Jar of Avarice.

"Hmm…" Link said, "You go on ahead, Truesdale. Going first won't help you." Link told him confidently.

"Big talk for someone who lost to an amateur not too long ago." Zane drew another card.

"Like Jaden likes to say: If you're able enough to draw, you're able to win." Link tried to defend himself.

Zane smirked, "Right, for my first move, I summon Proto-Cyber Dragon in ATK," (1100), "And I place down two facedowns and end my turn."

Link felt the choker electrode tighten around his neck slightly, and he drew a card with a grimace, "Draw! Alright, here goes. I summon The Twilit Igniter Fyrus in ATK!" (2200) "Attack Fyrus!"

They giant creature made its way toward Zane, and just before it was able to swing at the Proto-Cyber Dragon, Zane activated his trap, "It's called Attack Reflector Unit. So I can tribute this card, Proto-Cyber Dragon, and summon a Cyber-Barrier Dragon from my deck." (800 ATK) "And since he is in ATK mode, he negates your attack." Zane explained.

"Fine with me." Link plays a spell next, "Jar of Avarice! Now I know you remember this one, Truesdale." Link drew two cards, "For my last move, I place one facedown and end my turn."

"Not much else you can do. Now you're completely defensless," Zane drew as Fyrus left the field and went into the graveyard, "I summon Exploder Dragon!" (1000) "And I play the spell Quick Summon, so I can summon another monster to the field. I now summon Cyber Phoenix!" (1200) "And I won't even need any other monsters to win this duel." He said with a smirk.

Link watches carefully as Zane commands his Cyber-Barrier Dragon to attack Link. He waits to play his facedown for Cyber Phoenix since it has the highest ATK. When the attack hits, Link felt every bit of the shock. He screamed in agony at the sudden pain throughout his entire body, and Zane laughed. The edges of Link's eyes turned red and when the shocking stopped, he fell to his knees and held onto his elbows, trying to keep himself as small as possible.

Zane then commands the next monster to attack…1000 ATK. It hits Link even harder. And the next one, thankfully, he won't feel any pain for it because of Shell Blade. After the pain seceded, Zane wasted no time in commanding the Cyber Phoenix to attack Link directly.

"I play my trap!" Link said hoarsely, activating Shell Blade.

Before continuing, Zane cut in, "and I play Cyber Phoenix's special ability. When a trap or spell effect targets a machine-type monster on my side of the field, Cyber Phoenix negates that effect. You're still taking damage, Hylia."

This shock was by far the worst. Link gritted his teeth in a feeble attempt to drown out the pain and not scream out again in front of Zane. It didn't work however.

"How does it feel, Hylia? Still ready to beat me, are you?" Zane teased and the shocking finally stopped.

Link looked up and struggled to stand to his feet, "You did this to your own brother…?" Link asked shakily, falling back to his knees.

Zane didn't answer, "I end my turn. Good luck coming back from that." Zane said, looking back and forth through his three monsters on the field.

Link drew for his standby phase, 'Death Sword!' Link found a way out, 'And thanks to Death Sword's ability, nothing can prevent this effect, not even that Cyber Phoenix.' Link finally found his way to his feet.

Link's LP is at 1000, while Zane's is still 4000.

"How's your ombituske, Hylia?" Zane asked teasingly.

Yes…Link places his hand on his heart, this whole thing is really damaging his heart. After this duel, if Link loses, it could be fatal, "You're trying to kill me?" Link asked.

"Well, with you dead…nothing will be in my way anymore. Zelda—"

"You will keep your fifthly human hands off my sister!" Link yelled fiercely.

"Oh? And who's going to protect her? You?" Zane asked, "You remember how well that worked out last time, don't you?" Zane teased again.

Link's pain turned quickly to anger, "I play this spell, you know it, and you know it can't be negated, Death Sword!" Link said. All cards were destroyed on the field.

This is Link's chance. He has to make a comeback here, or never. If not, Zane will pull another amazing move, and Link will be unable to do anything.

"Now, I summon a Goron in ATK!" (2000)

Link was thinking he could end this duel so easily by attacking twice with the Goron, but Zane can play a quick spell before his battle phase starts, "I play the quick spell from my hand, Proton Generator Unit, so I may summon out a Cyber Laser Dragon in ATK." (2400)

Link grimaced, realizing that he was once again out of moves. What can he do now? Link looked at his hand desperately.

"You are hopeless, Hylia. You are way out of your league." Zane insulted.

Link placed a card facedown and ended his turn.

"Great, now, I play Graceful Charity; I can draw three cards, and keep one of them. Just the one, too. I play Cyberdark Keel! And his special ability: I pick one level three or lower dragon-type monster in my graveyard and equip it to Keel. Before doing this, though, I play this trap. It's called Rebirth Judgment, so I say what type all the monsters in my graveyard are. Can you guess it? I choose Dragon, so now I equip Cyber Phoenix to Cyberdark Keel and he now has 2000 ATK. And now, Cyber Laser Dragon, attack the Goron!"

"I play my trap! Elegy of Emptiness, so my life points and my monster is safe from this attack." Link said.

"Hmm…" That wasn't supposed to happen, "Good save, I guess. I end my turn with a facedown."

Link sighed in relief and drew a card, "Great, now I summon the Fierce Deity!" (3200)

Zane's face almost fell, but he kept it straight, "I see you remember the Fierce Deity." Link almost smiled and he continued with an attack on the Cyber Laser Dragon.

Zane remembered that this creature cannot be defeated by effects or in battle. He is nearly invincible. There is only one that can defeat him, Zane recalls from the books. He leaves these thoughts and is perfectly still while the shock finally gets him.

'No reaction?' Link thought, 'Does it not hurt him?'

Zane must have read Link's mind, because he laughed and said, "Oh, it hurts, for sure it does. But what doesn't? That's all life is."

"Wouldn't you know?" Link asked rhetorically, "I end this turn with a facedown."

"Having a hard time finding what you need?" Zane asked.

"What?" Link was confused, and Zane drew a card.

"Never mind, Hylia, I wouldn't want your head to explode from being in too much thought while dueling. No, that's _my _mission." Zane placed a card on his disk, "I summon Cyberdark Horn, and he has the same ability as Keel here. Since the trap card Rebirth Judgment is still in play, all the monsters in my graveyard are dragon-types. I equip Cyber Laser Dragon to Cyberdark Horn!" (3200) "Attack the Goron, Cyberdark Horn!"

Link's facedown was activated, "Floor Master, you remember this one, too, right Truesdale?" Link said, "So you're attacking monster is sent to the graveyard."

Zane, smiles, "Well, Cyberdark Horn's other ability is that when this monster would be sent to the graveyard, the equipped monster is sent to the graveyard instead, so the Horn itself is safe. And you had better do something quick, because next turn, I will have won."

"But your Horn's ATK is now back at 800. I have a Goron and the Fierce Deity, which can destroy both of your monsters." Link protested.

Zane smirked again, waiting for Link's move as he ended his turn.

'This isn't right. It's like he _wants _his monsters in the graveyard.' Link scoffed mentally at the thought, 'Makes sense…humans benefiting from the death or pain of other creatures.' Link drew a card.

This is a good one, too. There's only one consolation for this card, and considering what was on the field, Link did not mind too much. Link noticed Zane's facedown from a couple of turns ago. Maybe that's Zane's plan? Whatever it is, it won't win the duel for him because of this card. Link plays it.

"I play this spell, River of Entewya! I cannot summon any monsters this turn, but my life points regenerate to 4000 again." Link said.

Ironically, a good and warm feeling did not flood through his veins as his life points returned, but at least he didn't get a shock. At the move, Zane's wicked grin grew. He is definitely thinking up mischief. How will this work out?

"Alright, Goron, attack Zane's Cyberdark Horn!" Link commanded.

After Zane, took the damage, Link noticed Zane gritted his teeth, but he was still smirking, "And now, Fierce Deity, attack Cyberdark Keel!" Zane was left with 1200 LP, and the Goron is able to attack again, "Still think you can beat me, Truesdale?" Link asked fiercely as he thought this duel was his.

Zane's grin grew wide again as the Goron rolled towards Zane's body, then Zane played his facedown, "It's called Power Wall. I don't assume you know what it means, since you have no respect for humankind."

"How could I when it contains people like _you?!_" Link asked in an infuriated yell.

"Power Wall allows me to negate any battle damage so long as I send cards to the graveyard from my deck." Zane said, discarding every single card in his deck to his graveyard, "I had sixteen cards left, so I discard 15 of them and only take 500 points of damage."

"That leaves you with 700 and only five cards left in your hand." Link said, 'Unless you have a brilliant idea right now….this duel is mine.' He thought.

"Right. Are you finished?" Zane asked, eager to get to the next step.

'I have 4000 LP, and no more cards that I can place facedown. I have two spells and this Poe in my hand, still.' Link thought, "I end this turn."

"Finally." Zane drew his last card, "First off, I play this spell, Overload Fusion!"

"But you have no monsters on the field!" Link protested.

"I don't need them on my _field_, Hylia. I need them in my graveyard. I can fusion summon to the field, by using Cyberdark Keel, Cyberdark Horn, and Cyberdark Edge from my graveyard, the Cyberdark Dragon! He also has the ability to gain ATK from an equipped monster in my graveyard. I equip him with Infernal Dragon!" (3000 ATK)

"That's still not enough to defeat me now." Link said.

"Now I play the equip spell card Megamorph. Since my life points are lower than yours, Cyberdark Dragon gets to double his ATK points, and you know what that means." (6000)

Link's face welled with panic, 'Please be dumb enough to attack the Fierce Deity…' He prayed to the Gods.

"Attack the Goron!" Zane pointed, having made Link lose all 4000 LP in a single shock.

Zane doesn't have to imagine how painful it is, especially when Link starts screaming. Everything is told in that one breath before Link never breathes again…

**Oh geez, oh geez…what now? I won't keep you waiting for too long to find out what happens next. I need to know though, was this a good duel? I've tried writing about Zane dueling; never thought I had it quite right. Was this alright? AaX? Tell me please…**


	14. Search for Link

LoZ! GX AoS Chapter 14 – Search For Link

Zelda asked Miss Dorothy if she could use her kitchen to make all of her friends a different breakfast today. With great joy, Zelda began to make some dough, pouring in cinnamon. She then picked up portions of dough at a time and shaped them into spirals; then, Zelda fit a dozen onto a metal pan and put it in the oven.

Zelda prepared another batch for when she takes the first pastries out. She believes the humans call them Cinnamon Rolls, which seems fitting. When Zelda takes the first twelve out, Jaden finally enters the kitchen on request of Miss Dorothy.

"Zelda? What are you doing in here?" Jaden asked her, rubbing his eyes, still half asleep.

Zelda was putting on the white glazed frosting stuff that turns clear when melted by the amazing warmth of the pastry.

Syrus, Jesse, and Hassleberry were behind Jaden, "Well, lookee here. Looks like someone made some cinnamon rolls…" Jesse smiled.

"For you all. I don't know why I wanted to, I just did, so here." Zelda said, holding out the pan.

Jaden was the first one to take one, "Hey thanks!" The rolls were slightly undercooked, so they were still doughy.

It was perfect.

Jesse liked them. Jaden liked them. Hassleberry liked them. Zelda took pride in her work that her friends liked her cooking so much. She smiled at them all.

"Too bad Chumley isn't here for this! He would love this. Thanks Zelda." Syrus liked it, too.

When everyone had finished seconds, Bastian and Alexis entered with a new face that Zelda had never seen before. She took out the second batch and glazed them up. The new face was a girl, very short, but taller than Syrus. She had long blue hair, and she was in the Slifer Red dorm.

"Hey Zelda, this is Blaire Flannigan. She showed up a couple of years ago and was unable to attend Duel Academy, so here she is again." Alexis said.

"Oh, hello Blaire. Would you like some cinnamon rolls?" Zelda asked her.

By now, everyone has taken a roll and complimented Zelda's cooking, "Thank you so much, Zelda. It was delicious." Alexis told her.

Zelda then realized that there was definitely someone missing. He should have come with Jaden and Syrus. Why isn't he here? Where could he be?

"Where is Link?" Zelda asked.

"I assumed he would be with you." Jaden said.

Miss Dorothy entered then with Jim Cook beside her, "Took me a while to find this one, but here you go, Zelda." She winked and as fast as she came, she left.

"What's going on?" Jim asked casually.

"Zelda made _cinnamon rolls!_" Hassleberry exclaimed excitedly.

Jim reached out for one, "May I?"

"It's what they're there for," Zelda nodded, "Have you seen my brother?"

Jim looked at Zelda and everyone else, "No, I haven't. You can't find him? Is he missing?" He asked her.

"Well…I'm sure he's fine. He can take care of himself," Zelda tried convincing herself, "I am just wondering about him, you know?" She took a piece of hair in her hand and gently pulled it over her shoulder, 'Still though, he shouldn't be gone. Where would he go? Wouldn't Miss Dorothy be looking for him? Maybe she thought he would be with Jaden, too.'

"Maybe we should go look for him." Bastian suggested.

Zelda nodded and left almost immediately. Jim put down his half eaten roll and went along with her. Everyone else followed behind. Where would he be?

Zelda walked away from the academy building and towards the shore. This was one of her favorite places to be, maybe Link had seen it as she does. She looked down from the high ground, the sun lighting up the sand and rocks. Out at sea, she noticed a boat sitting before the docks. And there was a shine that caught her eye. She moved over, shielded her eyes from the redirected sun and saw that it was redirected by a duel disk.

…Link's duel disk. She froze. He is on the ground, not moving. Cards spread out everywhere. She cannot move. She only stares at her brother's body, frozen in fear. So badly does she want to run to him, but her feet were stuck stiff into the ground.

Jim came up behind her, "Mate are you alright?" He looked at her and received no response.

He followed her eyes to where she was looking and saw Link. Jim put down Shirley on the ground next to Zelda, and he immediately, almost without thinking, slid down the rocky shore and gathered Link's deck back inside his duel disk and carried him on his back and over his shoulders. Link's heartbeat was slow on Jim's shoulder. He ran up the path and Zelda watched the whole thing is fear.

Link has to be okay. He always was, wasn't he? He's alive and well. He just had to be…Zelda waited. Jim finally reached her.

"Should I take him to Miss Fontaine?" Jim asked.

Zelda nodded and held back her tears. Again, she watched as Jim ran with Link's limp body on his shoulders. Shirley began to follow Jim, and Zelda tried to follow. Her feet just would not move, so instead, her knees gave in and she fell to the ground, shaking uncontrollably.

**Looks like we won't have to take the Creator out at all.** That familiar voice said in Zelda's head.

She covered her face with her hands, 'Go away…' Her tears began to finally spill.

**Zelda…**

The way that thing said Zelda's name…it lingered in her head, echoed all around her, "Zelda…hey! Zelda?"

She heard it again. Wait…that wasn't…

Zelda looked up and saw a familiar face with green eyes and pointed ears. A Hylian, but who again? She knew she was expecting company soon, but who is this? Why is he familiar?

"Zelda? Are you alright?" He knelt to her and took her arms in his hands, "Why are you crying?"

Zelda noticed that his hair has gotten longer, too. Everything is slowly coming back. It's Audre. Audre from Hyrule, an old boy that she used to like. He is here. Why is he here, again?

"Audre…" Zelda said pathetically, "It's Link, I need you to help me up."

Audre pulled Zelda up by her arms and she was finally able to move again. She ran as fast as she could to Nurse Florence and she could hear Audre's heavy footsteps behind her.

Jaden was looking around behind those woods where he had dueled Wheeler that one time. Jesse was with him.

"I don't see anything, Jay. Maybe we should look somewhere else?" Jesse suggested.

"I'm not leaving here until either I or someone else finds Link. He's a friend, you know?" Jaden told Jesse.

Jesse nodded and continued to look in the other direction. There is a strange cube building over there. Moss was growing on the walls, so it must be a pretty old building.

"Hey, what is this place?" Jesse asked.

"It's an abandoned lab. Nothing's inside there." Jaden stopped to think for a minute, "What if Link went in there? Maybe he's stuck or something."

"Let's go check it out, then." Jesse ran ahead to the entrance of the laboratory.

What they found wasn't Link. Instead, it was a viper. It was professor Viper, and he wasn't waiting on them so they could chat for a bit. Professor Viper had a trap set up and was ready to keep both of them here. They have come too far and can't be allowed to leave now. For whatever reason it was that they came, they shouldn't have…

Syrus, Hassleberry, Bastian and Alexis were all present around the school grounds when Jim arrived with Link over his shoulder. At sight of them, Hassleberry yelled for everyone and they followed him back to the Nurse, Miss Fontaine. Link was set down on the hospital bed and the group noticed that there were many new faces unconscious in the infirmary today.

"What's up with all these students, Miss Fontaine?" Hassleberry asked.

"They are all suffering from a sudden fatigue. I don't understand why yet, but there are all piling up by the minute." She said and noticed Link slung over Jim's shoulder, "Link, too?"

"I suppose that makes the most sense. We found him collapsed by the docks. To me, it looked as if he had been dueling." Jim said, sitting down next to Link's reserved bed.

Bastian took a long look at his bio-band. There's no doubt in his mind about it now. He leaves unannounced. The group doesn't see him again for a very long time.

Finally, Zelda entered the office with a familiar face behind her. She saw Link and ran to his side.

"Do you think he will be okay?" Syrus asked.

"I don't know…" Zelda replied, "I don't—" she pauses and continues after sniffing, "He has to be…" with that, she bends over his body, lying her head down next to his so close that their noses were touching.

She cupped his face in her fair hands and cried next to him, terrified for him. What will she do if she loses him? He has to be okay. He has been before…what's so different about now? Zelda opens her crying eyes and looks down at Link's right hand. That bio-band….

She sat up and stared at it for a moment with her brows furrowed in both frustration and concentration. No one said a word until she did. Her eyes widened and she realized it.

"It must be! It's Viper! He's responsible for _all _of this!" She looked around the infirmary.

These students will be okay, but with her brother's condition, is it possible that he, too, will be fine? Every single time he has dueled this year, he has fallen over in an unconscious state! It's all too much for him. And what happened at the beginning of the year? Link was trying to tell Zelda. He tried! As usual, she ignored it, and now look at where they are!

"What do you want to do about it, then?" Alexis asked.

Zelda looked up at her, startled that someone broke the silence of her thoughts. She looked back down at her brother. His breathing is shallow and his mouth is slightly open. She would say that he must be in pain.

Zelda looked back at Alexis, Hassleberry and Syrus, "I say we take the next duel to him. I won't sit idly by while he tries to kill my brother. I'm going after him. Where ever he is, I'll find him, and this will stop." Zelda said.

"We'll back you up, soldier." Hassleberry told her with a salute.

"That we will," Alexis nods.

"As will I," Jim stood up.

Zelda almost forgot about this one. Jim Cook brought Link in. She smiled at him with a thank you and she lied down next to her brother's body.

"When will we go then?" Syrus asked.

Zelda pondered this, "First, we have to find Viper. I say when that snake shows his face here again we follow him to where ever he is going and we strike away from the academy." Zelda said.

"Alright, Miss," Hassleberry said, "We'll keep a close eye out for the enemy." Hassleberry told her.

Soon, everyone left and Audre was left with Zelda and an unconscious Link. He sat where Jim was before and watched Zelda. She looked like she was either asleep, or trying to get there. To him, this girl has always been cute. When he can't see all of her face, for some reason, he thinks she is even cuter.

Zelda's face is hidden behind Link's profile, and Audre can tell that she is whispering something. Either that or mouthing. He cannot hear her at all. Could she be sending a prayer to the Gods? Finally, her blue eyes opened, (Audre only saw one) and she looked up at him, showing him both. She looked nothing but depressed.

Audre cleared his throat, "Well…if you would allow," he began, "I will also help you. Surely you could use another Hylian duelist, right?"

Zelda remained unaffected. She reached inside her inside obelisk blue vest pocket, and she pulled out a card. Over Link's body, she held it out to Audre. He took it slowly and looked at it. A small smile crept over his lips.

"Thank you for holding on to this." He puts it away in a leather pouch with the rest of his deck.

"Why did you send it to me? If you were going to come here, why didn't you just keep it?" Zelda asked him.

"Well," he scratched the back of his head with one eye closed, "I wanted to give you a heads up." He opened his eye, "And I knew you would be able to make it visible. I didn't know how, but I just _knew_…" He replied.

"…Why was it blank?" Zelda asked, recalling that the card actually _did_ make itself visible to Zelda.

"Something about the twilight…" Audre said, making a hand gesture, blowing it off, "I don't know. But I know you." Audre looked down at Link, "How is everything?"

"Don't make small talk with me." Zelda commanded as she placed her head back down next to Link's, "I want you to leave. I don't know why you are here, but you aren't welcome."

"Listen, Zelda…ever since Majora beat me and I became one with the Masked Beast, I have been hearing a voice." Audre told her.

"What? A voice?" Zelda looked up at him, "What voice?"

"It's a female. She's asking me to help her. She's been transformed into something, not her true form by something called a Zant." Audre told Zelda in one breath.

She gasped, "You said Zant?"

"Yes…" Audre replied, "Does that mean something to you?"

**Sure, except my card is hidden somewhere within you, love…**

Zelda heard that voice, 'What? You're Zant, aren't you?!' She asked in her head.

**Quite correct. It's about time, little girl.**

'But what connection do you have with Majora?'

**Dear, I **_**am**_** Majora. Just like the Creator gets reincarnated, so do I. I am undefeatable. Forever I will torment you and your bloodline. That's what you get for sealing me away…**

Zelda stopped thinking to this Zant in her head. She looked up at Audre, and he looked confused and also worried. Worried for Zelda?

She shook her head, "Okay, Audre. Stick around a while."

"Where will I sleep then?" He asked.

"You can sleep in Link's room if you like." Zelda told him without thinking.

Despite Link's condition, he for sure will not be happy about that when he wakes up.


	15. Progression

LoZ! GX AoS – Chapter 15 – Progressing

Zelda did not leave Link's side. She wouldn't dare. No one had come to visit them that whole day after Jim found Link. His breathing is very slow, as is his heartbeat, but he seems to be managing fine in there. Zelda fell asleep next to him and woke up, seeing that she hadn't moved at all since the time she lied next to him yesterday.

She stares at his face. He isn't going to wake up anytime soon. She sighed. This happens to often nowadays. It is one duel after the other after the other…he just keeps ending up in the same place. Why? Never has his condition treated Link this bad before! Thinking about it made tears well up in her eyes again. No one is around, but she buried her face in Link's shoulder and neck to prevent any invisible eyes from seeing her.

"…I'm so sorry, Link…" She whispered to him, hoping that somehow, her voice was reaching him, "Give me another chance…" She griped his Ra Yellow jacket in a fist, "You can't leave me."

She wiped her face on the white blanket surrounding the two and she looked up at Link's face, "I promise to be a better big sister." He has such a perfect…he doesn't deserve this.

It seemed like hours before anything actually happened. Nurse Florence came in and walked around, observing everybody in the infirmary. Zelda almost fell asleep again, but some pounding noise shook her into reality. She realized that the pounding was coming from Link's neck. It's his heart…what's happening?

"Nurse Florence! Something's wrong!" Zelda yelled immediately.

Nurse Florence came by Link's bed. Zelda stood up and watched. She was playing around with the machine she has hooked up to Link. His sister watched helplessly as she began to click the buttons on the keyboard rapidly. Then there was the long beep.

It was one note…long. What does that mean? Nurse Florence quickly ran out and came back with some kind of machine she hooked to her hands.

"What's going on?" Zelda asked, but Nurse Florence did not hear.

There is another sound coming from those things hooked on Miss Fontaine's hands. First it was a lower note, and it became higher pitched as a few small, blue sparks flew from the edges. The woman connected those things to Link's chest and he jolted upright. It startled Zelda too because of the awful sound coming from that machine. Did the Nurse just _shock_ Link?

She did it again, and Link this time made the awful noise. He yelled out and he even opened his eyes. The machine he was hooked up to began beeping normally again. Who cares about that machine? Link is awake! He is alive! Zelda smiled wide now, clasping her hands together.

"He will be fine now. All he needs is rest," Nurse Florence told Zelda.

She nodded and wrapped her arms back around her little brother, "I am so glad you're okay!" She cries, muffled by his skin on his neck.

"Wha-what just happened…?" Link asked.

Miss Fontaine went to go deal with the other students now that Link is okay, and left Zelda with him.

"You woke up…you are alright…and you woke up." Zelda told him with relief, "I was so afraid this time. I promise I won't let it happen again." She finally looked up to see Link's face.

"…It's not your fault, Zelda." Link tells her, remembering everything that happened, "You and Sy…everyone told us to stay away from him, but I didn't listen."

Zelda opened her eyes wide. Is he talking about…he couldn't have! Why would he? She watched him closely. He would not make eye contact for a minute, but then he looked up at her with a brow raised.

"Guess I learned my lesson…I just…I can't duel." Zelda's eyes widened even more.

Is Link giving up now? "No, Link. You are a great duelist," Zelda tried.

"I've lost every match I played this year…every single one, Zel. Even the ones I _practiced_…I lost all of them. There's something wrong with me, and I need your help getting me back on track. I can be a better duelist. And next time around, I won't dare lose to Zane Truesdale…"

"But…" Zelda sighed and then she smiled, "Alright. I will help you out of this. Let's return you back to your former glory."

Link smiled and sat up. It sounded like he was in pain doing so, but Zelda didn't stop him. She let him sit completely up and wrap his own arms around Zelda. That just cannot go away. She'll never let him go now.

"How long was I in it this time?" Link asked.

"Just twenty-four hours." Zelda replied, "Well…what time did you lose that day?"

"It was dark…" Link said.

"So…a little _over_ 24 hours. It's better than usual." She shrugs optimistically.

"Yeah, I suppose…how long to I have to stay in here?" Link asked her.

"Nurse Florence suggested at least this day. She knows you don't want to stay in here all day or for a whole week, but….she prefers it if you stayed a whole week." Zelda let him know.

"A week? Yeah…I'm going home tomorrow." Link crossed his arms stubbornly.

"Figured…" Zelda smiled and she snuggled close to her brother.

They made small talk with each other the whole day, and then it was twilight…

Syrus and Chazz burst in through the door, "We have bad news!" Syrus yelled.

"What news?" Link asked first, silencing everyone.

"You're awake! That's great!" Syrus said with a small smile and then his face fell grave again, "But…there's still bad news. We can't find Jaden. He's nowhere to be found! Everyone has looked everywhere!" Syrus told them frantically.

"I'll help you. I know how to find him…" Zelda sat up and stood up.

She looked back at Link, "Stay here." She commanded firmly, "Do _not_ run off….I swear to Nayru, if I catch you up or find out you got up, I will break your knees…"

Zelda led both Chazz and Syrus to the red dorm to Jaden's room, "See if you can find one if his cards, alright?" She tells them.

There was not much room to be spreading out around in this dormitory, but they did their best to spread into three different paths. Zelda went forward next to the beds to look around in draws and beside tables. Syrus and Chazz searched dressers and some of Jaden's clothes.

"This isn't going to happen…" Chazz mumbled pessimistically, "Jaden takes his deck everywhere with him."

Zelda put her hand underneath Jaden's pillow and felt a familiar cold square printed papers. She pulls them out. These are his old cards. Elemental Heroes he does not use anymore like Sparkman, Avian, Bubbleman…all of them. What's more disturbing is that one of Jaden's old favorite cards is here as well. Elemental Flame Wingman!

This would do, "I found one, you guys!" She put the card down on the table across from the beds and sat in the chair provided there.

The both of them came to see what she was planning on next, "How is that going to help us find Jay?" Syrus asked.

"Watch…" Zelda put her hand over the card and closed her eyes.

To them, it looked like nothing was happening, but Zelda could see. Thanks to Jaden's strong bonds with his cards, he and they are connected spiritually. By using Elemental Flame Wingman's spirit, she is able to see Jaden's path with her mind. The card took her mind to the woods, through them entirely until they reached a rusty metal building with plants growing all over it. All of a sudden, her vision goes black. Elemental Flame Wingman did not want to remember what happened to Jaden.

She opened her eyes then. This is not good, she realized. Panic filled her eyes.

"Jaden is in trouble." She told the other two.

"Wait, how do you know that?" Syrus asked her, suspicious.

"Jaden and his cards are connected spiritually," Zelda explained, "Elemental Hero Flame Wingman told me where Jaden went, and something has happened to him. I can lead you to him, come on."

Zelda led them on through the woods in the middle of the night, with Flame Wingman still in her hand.

**A/N: Sorry it took me a little longer to get this one up. Last week of school usually means exams and what not. Been kinda busy, and to put more work on top of that, I had a lot of forms I needed to fill out for a college activity. I am going to Summer Studios this summer at one of the Ai schools! So exciting. Anyway, here is this chapter. Now I will not be working on the next chapter until after the 21****st****. That's when Summer Studios ends.**

**So I'll see ya'll later! R&R!**


	16. Redemption Duel

LoZ! GX AoS: Chapter 16 – Redemption Duel

Link was not afraid of Zelda's threats. She would never to purposeful harm to him. He took advantage of this fact and snuck out of the nurse's office. Miss Fontaine was on her computer looking up some students. Many of them have been coming here lately. No matter, it doesn't affect him at all.

He gets out and goes straight to his dorm to get dressed in his Ra Yellow uniform. Once dressed, he painfully leaves and makes his way down to the Slifer dorm. Jaden, Syrus, and Hassleberry are gone. They must still be in some kind of debacle.

If he could find a way to track them, he would, but he is only sensitive to hearing, not smelling. Speaking of his hearing, he senses someone familiar coming toward him. The sound of the person's footsteps are familiar, but he cannot recall them. In fact, he was sure after the steps got much closer that he'd never heard these before.

He looks away from where the steps are coming from and he begins to walk away. A young girl with long indigo hair and a Slifer vest emerges from behind the dormitory. She recognizes Link immediately.

"It's you!" She runs to Link, and Link turns to meet her, "Are you feeling better?"

Link now knows he has never seen this girl's face before. What does she want?

"You don't know me, but while your sister couldn't look after you, I did in her stead. My name is Blaire Flannigan." She smiles at Link.

"Ok," Link says, "Hi Blaire Flannigan."

"Are you hungry?" She asks him, taking his arm in hers before waiting for an answer.

Link is too weak to fight her grip, he knows, so he refuses to try, "Let me treat you to lunch." She grins at him.

He just follows willingly, not saying a word.

Zelda, Syrus, and Chazz arrive at the abandoned building far in the woods, "This is where Flame Wingman left his visions. Does this place mean anything to you?" She asks the two.

"This is that abandoned lab, where Jaden once dueled a monkey named Wheeler." Syrus said, "Why would he come here?"

"…Monkey?" Zelda repeated, "What's monkey?"

"An animal," Syrus replied, "I guess…now we just go inside and look for Jay?" His knees began to shake in fear.

"Well, it's been nice knowing' ya!" Chazz was about ready to leave, but Zelda caught him by his collar.

"Jaden needs our help. We are going to help him." Zelda told him strictly.

"Yeah! We will be the righteous heroes this time around! No running away!" Syrus tried his best to encourage himself, but he was still obviously terrified of the building.

"What is so scary about this place, Syrus? What happened here?" Zelda asked.

Syrus sighed and brought two fists up to his chest, "Nothing….it's just…so haunting looking. Don't you see it?" He asked in a panic.

Zelda grabbed Syrus's hand and dragged both him and Chazz inside the laboratory. Syrus had the right idea before. It is time for them to be heroes! They will go in and save Jaden just as Jaden saved them all in the past.

Blaire sat herself and Link down at a table inside the Slifer dormitory. This is where Alexis lived when she had a pad here instead of in the Obelisk dorm. Link stays sitting down as she leaves the room.

"I'll be right back!" She calls and leaves the room.

Link looks around. He remembers this room. He and the rest of the gang would gather here and talk about anything and everything. Well, Link would mostly listen to Jaden and everyone else's interesting conversations about dueling or whatever the subject was. Surely, things will go back to times like those. He and his friends could just sit and talk. If they're Jaden, maybe they will just duel.

Dueling has not been going to well for Link. He has lost left and right since he got back from Hyrule. What is wrong with him? A horrible thought crosses his mind.

What if he was never a good duelist? It was just Majora's power? It was just his hatred…Link was feeding off of it and without all of that hatred and power, he can no longer duel well. How can that be? Link has dueled since before he even knew of Majora. Unfortunately for him, that doesn't matter. Link was always the creator in a past life, Majora was always there whether he knew Majora was or not.

"I hope you like dumplings!" Blaire came back in with a plate of steaming round balls of cooked dough covered in a yellow sauce.

She placed the plate in front of him and gave him a pair of chopsticks. She took a seat across from him, put her hands on her cheeks and watched with a smile. Link was reluctant to pick up the chopsticks. He'd never seen them before. Blaire must have sensed that he had no idea what they were or how to use them because she took them and one of his hands.

"Look, you hold one like I pencil like this," She demonstrated and then added the other chopstick to her hand, "and you place the other one here. This way, you can pinch the ends together and pick up anything." She smiles and hands then back out to Link.

Link still did not take them, "Why are you doing this?" He asked her.

"I want to take care of you." Blaire replied.

Link understood that she was just trying to help. She was just being nice, but it angered him. His face hardened.

"I don't need to be taken care of!" He raised his voice.

Surprisingly, the girl, Blaire, stayed completely calm and even smiled back at him, "I understand. You're sister told me that you are quite the prideful one. But I'm not here to ridicule you." She told him.

Link's face softened and he took the chopsticks. It took both hands for him to perfect the hold on them, but he clumsily picked up a dumpling with it. Before putting it in his mouth, he looked up at Blaire.

"Thank you," He told her, trying out a smile, but his face was frozen.

"Frozen" is actually not the right word for it. A blush is burning up Link's cheeks severely. He only hopes that this Blaire cannot see his hot cheeks. Maybe they are discolored…he only hopes.

It is surprisingly easy to find one person when the trio enters the old abandoned lab. Lying on the ground is Jesse Anderson. Syrus panicked more than usual, and Zelda let go of the both of them to go aid this fallen duelist. She put her hands on his back in order to grab his sides and turn him over.

"This is Jesse," She stated when she saw his face.

She began to shake him a bit in order to awaken him, "Wake up Jesse. What happened?"

Jesse was able to shake off his unconsciousness, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he closed them tight again and his hand went to his head. A pained moan escaped his lips.

"What happened, Jesse?" Zelda helped him to sit up.

As soon as he got comfortable, he opened his eyes again, and he propped himself up, "It was Viper. He knocked me out, don't know what happened to Jay."

"You didn't see what that maniac did with Jaden?!" Syrus asked, furious.

"He was knocked out, Sy," Zelda told him gently as an attempt to calm him down, "You couldn't see what happened."

"No, but I think before I blacked completely out, Jaden challenged Viper to a duel. And I have a bad feeling about this duel…" Jesse rubbed his head some more.

"Do you know how to navigate this place?" Chazz asked, arms crossed.

Everyone assumed he was speaking to all of them. And all of them shook their head. Zelda looked down in thought.

"I guess we'll have to push forward anyway." She eventually responded, "Maybe we should split up."

"NO!" Syrus yelled, and he muffled himself with his sleeve.

The hall was completely silent except for his echoes. Afterwards, Jesse got Zelda's attention.

"I think I get where Syrus is coming' from. Splitting' up is faster, but not really safer. What if Viper gets loose again? Or…what about Axel? He's Viper's protégé. He's bound to be lurking around here someplace." Zelda finally helped Jesse to his feet.

"Alright," She nodded.

Thus, the group stayed together and walked forward until they met a three way. There was two different ways to turn, and an unexpected face showed.

Link ate his last dumpling, and Blaire put her hands together happily. She took his plate and chopsticks and put them away for him. While she was in the other room, Link decided that was his chance to get out. He stood and backed away, watching the doorway, hearing the clattering of metal pans on the floor and against other pots. Once he finally deems it safe to run, he sprints out of there. Once he is outside of that area, he peeks back inside.

The nice girl came back inside smiling. Seeing that Link was gone made her smile disappear. It made Link feel guilty about it. He turned to see forward. Zelda always said that his problems had greatly to do with the fact that he never stuck around when people actually wanted him around and wanted to help him. People have to fight to become his friend, and most people are not as determined as Jaden. Most people see it as that they can always find someone else.

Remembering her words or seeing Blaire's face, maybe both, caused Link to turn and go back inside, "Hey," He waved at her, smiling, "Sorry if I gave you a scare, just needed to—"

Link swallowed. He's choking again. Talking to people other than Zelda has been a problem since forever as well.

"I understand." She smiled warmly at him, "She also told me you were shy."

Link nodded with a small smile and before he could say that he needed to go somewhere, she ran up to him and pointed at him.

"I have an idea. Let's duel." Blaire said.

Duel? Dueling probably wasn't the best thing for him to do right then. He looked down at his boots.

"Duel?" He repeated, "I don't know…"

"It's _Duel_ Academy. Come on. Whether you win or you lose, you learn something new, right? You learn to be a better duelist with every duel. I know you haven't been doing well since that loss against Jose, but look, I'm not all that great of a duelist either. I only won the tourney last year because the tokens were forfeited." She does everything she can to convince him, even if she doesn't tell the outright truth.

It took Link a moment to decide, but he finally nodded and grabbed his deck from his pocket, "Let's duel." And it will be his redemption if he wins.

**A/N: So the next chapter is Blaire and Link dueling the actual duel. Also, next chapter you'll find out who the unexpected face is.**

** AaX – I know how I am going to fit the hero's tunic in now. It'll show up either next chapter or after that. …Hmmm, whenever it shows up, it'll be soon. Promise!**


	17. Other Worldly

LoZ! GX: AoS - Chapter 17 – Other Worldly

"Duel!" Blaire and Link shouted at once.

"I want you to go first." Blaire told Link.

Link simply nods and draws, "Alright, first, I summon White Wolfos," (1000) "I place one card facedown and end my turn."

"Aw…how cute," Blaire takes her standby phase, and says, "But what's in this is much cuter. I summon Mystic Egg in defense, and end my turn." (0)

Link raised a brow, "No attack points, no defense…what are you planning?"

"It's a surprise."

Link sighs, "One I'm sure I won't be happy about," He draws, "Alright, to start off, White Wolfos, attack Mystic Egg!"

With a jaw cracking bite, the White Wolfos destroyed Blaire's Mystic Egg. Link lowered his hands, disappointed. She is wide open now. No face downs or anything… What is she doing? Going easy on him? How humiliating that this is what it takes.

"Blaire, if you are not going to take me seriously, I think this duel should end."

"I am serious. Not everyone has a power-hungry strategy. You'll see. Keep dueling." She encourages.

Link sighs again, "Fine. Now that you're wide open, I can attack you with something else. I summon Arbiter Poe." (800) "Attack Arbiter Poe!"

"How's this?! I quick-summon Scapegoat!" On Blaire's field, four different tokens in DEF (0) appeared.

Arbiter Poe's attack was redirected to one of the tokens. Blaire is safe with a full 4000 LP. Link is getting nowhere so far, and he needs to step it up. Blaire can't win the game while on defense the whole time, can she? All that nonsense about strategy has got Link thinking. He shakes his head. The duel just began. Maybe his problem is that he is too eager. He cannot stop and think or change courses when something is going wrong. That must be how he lost to Jose. It's the only explanation.

With a deep breath, he put a card in his disk, "To top things off, I play the field spell, Arbiter's Grounds."

"I suppose that enhances your Arbiter Poe somehow?" Link glanced at his Arbiter Poe, and the pillars and chains and sand of the grounds.

He nodded and Blaire said, "Can't wait to find out!" She winks, "First, since you destroyed Mystic Egg this turn, I can summon Mystic Baby Dragon before my standby phase." (1200)

She draws, "Sweet! You're in for a world of hurt! First, I play my spell card, Token Thanksgiving. This card destroys all my tokens and gives me 800 life points for each token I destroyed. That means I now have 6400. I'll set this one aside for this battle phase. Mystic Baby Dragon, attack the Arbiter Poe!"

When Mystic Baby Dragon got close, the Arbiter Poe split into four different versions of itself.

"Thanks to my Arbiter's Grounds, you have to take a chance. Be warned though, if you pick the wrong Poe, then Mystic Baby Dragon will turn around and attack you directly."

"Hmm…" Blaire rubs her chin, "Alright. Attack the third Poe." She commanded.

Mystic Baby Dragon went right through the Poe and turned around to attack Blaire. (LP – 5200)

"Man! Can you tell me which one it was?" She asked.

"I can't, because I don't know either." Link replied.

"Alright, then…now that that's out of the way, I summon my spell card, Mystic Revolution. So I tribute my Mystic Baby Dragon, and out comes Mystic Dragon!" (3600)

Link swallows. Blaire thinks. The Arbiter Poe's ability is going to activate again because of Arbiter's Grounds. If she attacks it, the odds that she will land a hit are slim, and then she will be short 3600 LP. If she just attacks the White Wolfos, Link will have 1400 life points. The duel will be more than halfway over then…if things go well for her.

"Okay, I have decided it is best to attack your White Wolfos!"

Link smiled, "And it is my decision to activate my face down, Floor Master!"

"What does that do?" Blaire asked as a black hand emerged from the ground and grabbed the Mystic Dragon.

"It sends your attacking monster to your graveyard." Blaire grimaces, "Nice move…"

"Thank you…so what's next, Blaire?" Link asked, actually having fun for once.

"I play the spell Stray Lambs, so two Lamb Tokens are on my field in defense mode."

"Oh, well I hope that makes a difference." He draws, "To start off, I play Jar of Avarice and draw two cards." Link looks at his hand with a smile, "Perfect. I summon the Twilit Igniter, Fyrus." (2200) "And I play the spell, Sonata of Awakening. This is the only card I can use to special summon a spirit monster, and I summon Kalle Demos." (2000)

"Arbiter Poe, attack the Stray Lamb Token! Kalle Demos, attack the other Lamb Token. Now, Fyrus, and White Wolfos attack Blaire directly!"

(LP – 2000)

"Great!" Blaire fist pumped, "You see? You are still a great duelist. You really are…"

"Maybe…but this duel isn't over yet."

"You're right…let's keep it going!"

Link genuinely smiled, and put down a face down, "I end my turn." He said as the two spirit monsters dissipated and vanished completely.

Zelda, Syrus, Chazz, and Jesse traveled through the hallways of the abandoned laboratory. Jaden is in here somewhere, and they are determined to find him.

"Jesse, do you have any idea where they may have gone?" Zelda asked, recalling that he was here with Jaden before he vanished.

"…no. I just know that Viper came from this direction when I saw him."

"And you're sure it was Viper?" Chazz asked, "After all, you were kind of knocked out."

"I can't imagine who else it would have been." Jesse replied.

They continued walking, until they heard something; rocks, pebbles falling to the ground. It was not coming from above them, and then they heard a grunt. Everyone stopped, thinking the same thing, but keeping quiet. They will be unable to determine where the sound is coming from otherwise. Zelda looked all around her. Jesse was on to something. He knelt to the ground, feeling the stone.

"I think it's coming from under the ground."

"Okay, so how do we open the ground?" Syrus asked.

"We probably need to find a staircase…it's just a basement." Zelda said.

"No…" Chazz ran forward, "We can use the elevator."

Everyone followed, but Zelda stood confused, "Elevator? What's that?"

"This contraption here, is a type of machinery that automatically takes people up or down floors in a building." Jesse explains.

"…is it safe?" Zelda recalls seeing things like that in Hyrule, but this thing just seems intimidating.

"Of course!" Jesse smiled, "Well, ya know…probably."

Suddenly, from behind them, there was a loud crash. Two hands were emerging from an opened hatch in the ground.

"Look!" Zelda exclaimed, "There was an opening after all!" She ran to the hands and grabbed them, pulling the heavy unfamiliar boy up, "I am so sorry, sir! We were coming for you, thinking we could find you down-elevator." She replaced the traditional "stairs" with the new word.

She pulls him up, a stranger looking boy, hair black as night, skin, thick like metal. He pants.

"What is your name?" Zelda asked.

"That's Axel, Viper's protégé." Jesse answered.

"Not anymore…" Axel roughly defended, "He is up to something. I grew suspicious, and snuffed him out here. He trapped me down there, though."

"Do you happen to know where he is right now?" Zelda asked.

"No, that's why I'm here."

"It's why we're here too. We think he is dueling Jaden somewhere in this dungeon." Zelda said, "Do you know the layout of this place?"

"No idea," Axel stood, "But I will keep looking."

"We were about to go down the elevator. Do you think he's down there?" Chazz asked.

"Definitely not. If he is behind all the cameras around here, which he is, he is going to be in the highest room. He's up somewhere. Does that elevator go up?"

"It does," Chazz nodded.

"Let's go then."

Link has an Arbiter Poe on his field, a White Wolfos and the field spell, Arbiter's Grounds is in play. Blaire draws for her standby phase, and places a card on her duel disk.

"Here's one of my favorite cards, Maiden in Love!" (400)

Link smiled, "Who's she in love with?"

"It depends," She smiled back, "Attack Arbiter Poe!"

Link's smile faded, "You do realize it is still a game of chance? Even if you pick the right one, you will still lose 400 life points."

"I know. Attack the first one!" For the first time in a long time, someone actually chose the correct Poe.

Nothing was destroyed, and Arbiter Poe received something called a maiden counter. Blaire now has 1600 LP.

"What is the Maiden Counter for? And why is she still here?"

"Maiden in Love cannot be destroyed by rejection or anything, not even card effects. As for the Maiden Counter, well…that's a surprise. I end my turn."

'No face downs…she is confident in that Maiden.' Link thought, "Okay!" He draws, 'Dead Man's Volley is useless in this situation. No monster is going to be giving me trouble. She said Maiden in Love cannot be destroyed in battle, so I am going to have to take a different approach. Let's see…is there anything in my deck that can help in this situation…?' Link holds out a card that may be a potential solution, "This card is called Rito. It has a special ability that lets me pick any card in my deck or graveyard and put it in my hand."

"Well…you have to play it first." Blaire replied.

"I am trying to think if I have anything that will get me out of this. Is my deck powerful enough to take on a Maiden in Love?" Link blinked at Blaire once, "I…can't recall."

"Try," Was her simple response.

Link nodded, "I summon Rito to the field. And…Let me see if this works." (500) He pulled a card from his deck and placed it into his hand, "I can play it now. I summon the field spell, Koholint Island."

Arbiter's Grounds is replaced with an oceanic scene.

"Aw, what a perfect place for a romance story!" Blaire exclaims.

"Maybe if you knew its history, you would see how absurd that is." Link told her, but still smiled, "During a time, it was haunted and plagued by nightmares…you will see." At the end phase, a monster was automatically summoned to Link's field.

"What is that? An egg?"

"Yes, this is similar to your Mystic Egg bit, but this is called the Wind Fish's Egg, and it unleashes something terrible in just two turns."

"Something…terrible?"

"Well, terrible in history." Link reassured Blaire, "Anyway, I end my turn here."

"Draw!" She took her standby phase, "Now, I equip my Maiden in Love with Cupid Kiss. Attack the Arbiter Poe." This time, both Blaire and Link took 400 points of damge.

"Why did that happen?" (LP – 3600)

"That is what the Maiden Counter is for. Now I can take control of your Arbiter Poe." She explained as Arbiter Poe switched sides. (LP – 1200)

Blaire smiles, "Now, Arbiter Poe, attack Rito." With a slash of the lantern in the Poe's transparent hand, the harpy creature was destroyed, doing 300 points damage to Link's LP. (LP – 3300)

'At this rate, Blaire just may deplete her own life points. Unless she has any more of those token cards along with the token thanksgiving, she is slowly loosing due to herself.' Link thought, 'It helps that the nightmare is coming soon...'

"I place one card facedown and end my turn."

Link drew, "Alright, attack Arbiter Poe, White Wolfos!"

"I play my trap!" Blaire replied, "It is called Defense Maiden, so your attack is redirected to my Maiden in Love." Now her life points drop to 400.

Her back is against the wall now. It seems like she dug her own grave. Link sighed. At least he was able to last a few rounds…

A Maiden Counter is placed on White Wolfos. Link just has to wait. Blaire can only take the White Wolfos for herself if she attacks it again, and that would be pointless.

"I suppose I end my turn with a face down then." Link told her, anticipating her next move.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." She crosses her fingers, "If this works out, anyway." She draws, "Not the card I wanted, but maybe the next one will be. I play Pot of Avarice, so I can draw a card again. There it is! I summon Stray Lambs again. You remember what it does. It summons two Lamb Tokens, and thanks to the card I just drew, Token Thanksgiving, I gain 1600 life points from them." (LP – 2000) "That's the last chance for that I get." Blaire stated, "So now, I can attack your White Wolfos with Maiden in Love. It's a good thing he has a Maiden Counter, right?" She giggled.

White Wolfos also turned on Link, baring its fangs at him.

All he has left is the egg with 0 ATK and DEF, Koholint Island, and a facedown, Dead Man's Volley.

"Arbiter Poe, attack the Wind Fish's Egg!" The egg was not destroyed due to Koholint Island's effect, but Link still took damage.

The White Wolfos then attacked the egg, but Link played his face down, "Dead Man's Volley. This card redirects White Wolfos's attack to himself. The targeted monster loses 100 ATK and DEF, and the attacking monster loses 200 ATK and DEF. No battle damage is dealt to me or you. This card is destroyed at the end of your turn."

"Well…I guess that is now then." Blaire ended her turn.

"It has been two turns," Link said and out of the egg emerged a black cloud and pulsing tentacles, "This is Nightmare Death Eye." (4000)

"So…you are going to have it attack Arbiter Poe, and then I'll lose?" Blaire asked.

"No, Nightmare Death Eye can only target Light-Elemental monsters. Your maiden fits the bill, but she will only cause us trouble, instead, I am going to activate his special ability." Link told her.

"What's that?" Blaire asked.

"One of them is to discard my hand to destroy one card on your field, but that seems like beating a dead horse. The one I am activating is one where you take damage equal to the sum of DEF points on the field besides Nightmare Death Eye's. That's your maiden, White Wolfos, and Arbiter Poe has no DEF, so say goodbye to 1300 life points." (LP – 100)

"Wow…you almost had me there." Blaire said.

"You are hanging on by a thread now." Link observed.

They found Jaden, but he was not dueling. He was face down on the ground just outside the place.

"Jaden!" Syrus yelled.

He was unconscious, and not waking up or even stirring anytime soon.

"I'm gonna go get help." Syrus stated.

"I'll go with him." Chazz followed close behind Syrus.

"Jesse, I can wake him." Zelda told him.

"Well, what're you waitin' for? Permission?"

Zelda almost smiled, but she knelt to Jaden and put a hand on his chest. His heart is beating normally. It seems as though Jaden is just tired, but there is dirt all over his face. No one falls asleep face down on the hard ground. Very soon, Jaden began to stir.

"Jaden!" Zelda shouted, "Wake up, Jay, come on!"

Jaden opened his brown eyes, and grimaced, "Professor…Stein…where is he? What happened?"

"Who?" Jesse asked.

"Our history teacher," Zelda answered, "What about Professor Stein, Jaden? What do you remember?" She helped him sit up.

Jaden rubbed his head and face, "Ugh…I was dueling Professor Stein. And then…" Jaden grew wide-eyed and panicked, "I remember! He was working with Viper and then he…I think he died. Oh, I don't feel so good." Jaden put both hands over his head.

"We need to get him out of here," Zelda told Jesse, "And then—"

She was interrupted by sinister laughter. At the sound, it was Jesse's turn to be shocked. He obviously recognized the voice.

"No way…that voice…"

"Who is that Jesse?" Jaden asked.

"…I think I know exactly who it is, a duelist that goes by the name Trapper. I've been lookin' for him for a mighty long time." There was that laughter again.

"So, we're dueling this Trapper, next?" Jaden chuckled.

"I am, we have unfinished business, and you're in no condition to duel. Even Syrus went to go get help, he was so worried 'bout you."

Jaden looked up at Zelda, "I am going to stay with Jesse for moral support. You should find Syrus, wherever he went. I have a feeling things are about to get…worse."

Zelda nodded, "Alright Jaden. I will be back as soon as possible, with everybody. I promise…" Once she helped Jaden up on his feet, even though he was shifty, she left them behind and was on her way back to Duel Academy.

Blaire looked at her hand, "Well, it's a good thing your Nightmare Death Eye can only target light attributed monsters. Does that restriction include being able to destroy them and deal battle damage to me?"

"If you're thinking about attacking Nightmare, that will only lose you the duel." Link told her.

"Well, I am quite stuck then. You see, I only have one card left in my deck. Next standby phase, I will have no choice but to forfeit, unless you beat me before then."

"Looks like you should add a couple more cards to your deck." Link suggested.

"Yes, I just…have not gotten there yet." She drew her last card, "Alright," Blaire looks at the last three cards in her hand, 'Monster Reborn could help…if only I had a monster with more than 4000 ATK. None of these cards will do. Raregold Armor…if Arbiter's Grounds was still on the field, I could have a chance if I equipped this to the Poe, but…Negate Attack is more than useless here. He won't attack, he'll just use Nightmare's ability. He won…'

"I suppose I place one facedown." She said, 'Maybe it'll throw him off…'

Link lowered his hands, "I activate Nightmare Death Eye's ability, and that's the end of the duel."

"Sure is! That was fun. We should do it again sometime."

Link smiled, "Only when you get yourself a larger deck. It isn't fair that you ran out of cards. Your strategy is fair, but you have too few. Hylian decks are built for a long variety of strategy so we can get out of almost any jam…that is something I have been ignoring lately." Link confessed, "I don't know why, I guess I just—"

He cut himself off and looked around, "Where _is _my sister again?"

"She went out looking for Jaden."

"Jaden is missing? I don't remember that…should we go help?" Link asked.

Blaire nodded and took Link by the arm. They left the room, and the academy.

Professor Thelonious Viper stood in front of a life-sized phial, containing liquid that glowed similar to that of a lava lamp.

"It looks like I need just a bit more energy. And I know just who to duel…"


	18. To The Snake's Den

**A/N: …So…I got my computer back…:( Things have been stressful, I am so glad I finally got these chapters up, you guys have no idea. I have been wanting to do this again for soooo long! But what with my files gone, I had to get them back, redo notes based on previous chapters. *sigh* I finally got em though! Hope you guys like these next chapters.**

LoZ! GX: AoS - Chapter 18: To The Snake's Den

Link almost fell to his knees on the way out of the academy, "This bio band is taking the life out of me," He told Blaire, breathing heavily, "If I could just…"

"Link!" Zelda's voice sounded, "Blaire, why would you let him up and out?" Zelda took Blaire's place beneath Link's arm, "You need to go back—"

"Please don't." Link told his sister, "I am fine. I just want to fight Viper. He is the one that did this to us."

"Revenge is not going to make your problems go away." Zelda nearly scolded.

"This isn't about making my problems go away. I will always be sick, but it doesn't mean I can't live my life fighting for you and my friends. Viper has done this to all of us! He is a villain, and he needs to pay for what he's done." Link replied.

At the speech, Zelda is taken aback slightly. Revenge is still not right, but maybe that wasn't exactly where Link was going with this.

"I think I know where Viper is. If I take you to him, you think you can defeat him in a duel?" Zelda questioned seriously.

"Yes," He replied without missing a beat.

It did not sound arrogant, it sounded confident enough. Link was changing, and Zelda smiled. She acknowledged Blaire and led him with her, continuing her search for Syrus.

Audre escaped Link's room, ready for the challenges ahead. He looked at his card, Midna, the Princess of Twilight. Her true form is trapped in chains within the card. What she truly resembles now, the imp that appears on the field in a duel, is the suffering of her and her whole realm. He sighed, turning the card back and forth in his fingers.

"I don't know how, but we will save you, I promise." He spoke aloud.

An unfamiliar knock on the door sounded. Audre ignored it. He knows no one here, nor does he care for them.

"Hello? Link? Anyone in there? We need help!" The voice was frantic.

Audre ignored it still. Whoever it was, he knew the little Hylian. He was probably a human acquaintance of Link's. Audre heard knocks further away. The voice yelled for a "Hassleberry".

There was an exchange of words. Someone by the name of Jaden was missing, and this boy, Syrus is looking for help. He mentioned briefly that Zelda was with "them". Audre was now interested and opened the door. He took one look at the two, and dubbed them useless.

"You, Syrus, can you tell me where you last saw Zelda?"

Now that Jesse had nothing to hold back any longer, he played his spell, GEM Force, and that would ultimately win him the duel.

"When these cards are removed from play, the evolve into crystals. And now, with the power of these gems, allow me to dazzle you with 500 points of damage for each crystal on the field. Looks like the hunter's become the hunted. This ends nowTrapper!" After Jesse's command to attack Trapper, the duel was finally won.

Trapper fell straight to the ground on his back, nothing else moving. It is almost as if he actually felt the attack. Jesse wiped his shirt off, and was panting. Jaden ran up to him from the sidelines.

"Jesse! You did it!"

Trapper's voice sounded from the other side of the field, "You were right, I was like you once, Jesse, but after—" He gasped for air, "I was fightin' the good fight, and one day, my bond with my monsters was taken away. I vowed then to trap monster spirits after that every time I won a duel. Then I met a man named Viper…"

"You met Viper?" Jesse repeated, "What did he want from you?"

"He said I could hold the ultimate spirit, the Rainbow Dragon…So I took him up on his offer," Trapper closed his eyes.

Jesse held his hand up and before he could say anything more, his bio-band activated, and he fell limp. Jaden was able to catch him before he fell completely to the ground. Trapper started panicking, and was absolutely terrified. He disappeared right before Jaden and Jesse's eyes.

"He just plumb disappeared!" Jesse exclaimed, and soon became much weaker.

"Jesse, you gonna be alright?" Jaden asked.

"Yeah, I will be, what do you say we find Viper and put an end to this?" Jaden nodded and stood Jesse up.

"Just rest for a little bit, and we'll go get him." Jaden said.

"I have an idea where he might be…"

They all met up a distance away from the academy. Syrus, Hassleberry, Audre, Link, and Zelda all had the same idea.

"We need to find Jaden, and stop Viper."

"Viper?" Audre repeated.

"He's a bad guy," Hassleberry told him.

Syrus held up a large bowl of water, "I got this for Jaden! He's in that jungle place somewhere." He said.

"I am going to duel Viper." Link stated.

"You, slim?" Audre questioned.

"He is completely capable." Zelda defended him, "Much more than you are."

"What's he going to do? Sacrifice him to Majora?" Audre crossed his arms.

"That was not really Link! And it was kind of an accident…" Syrus yelled.

"Yeah, it happened to me, too, and I know he meant no harm." Hassleberry said, "Forgive and forget lieutenant."

"Majora isn't in him anymore anyway. He's gone forever, defeated." Zelda said.

Audre narrowed his eyes at her, "You and I both know that is not true. He has come back, not as Majora, but as Zant. _You_ should be the one dueling."

Zelda shook her head, "We have no time to be arguing. Just come _with _us. I know exactly where to go."

With no other words spoken, the party left, speeding towards the wilderness of the island. The laboratory was within the brush of nature, she remembers. Viper was inside, and so was Jaden and Jesse. On the way, they encountered two friendly faces as well. Jim Cook and Alexis Rhodes were walking around, Jim with his interesting device and Shirley.

"What are you doing here?" Zelda inquired.

"I thought I would find the source of this," Jim held up his device, "Shirley is not getting any better."

"Wait…if Shirley is going nuts, that means I will too…what if I lose control again?" Hassleberry wanted to leave them at the thought of losing control.

"Don't worry. If it happens again, you're in good hands." Jim gave Hassleberry a thumbs up for reassurance.

"Thanks, Jim." Hassleberry sighed, deciding he was going to stay with his friends.

"I was out looking for Jaden, or…anybody of use." Everyone was gone or they were Hassleberry…" Alexis took steps away from Hassleberry, "I was caught in a trap by Viper, Jim found me and he saved me from drowning."

"So, Viper tried to drown Alexis?" Zelda mumbled.

"Then I'll drown him…" Link answered.

Jaden and Jesse stood, ready to go up to Viper, "This has been quite a ride, huh, Jaden?" Jesse asked, smiling.

"It's been fun, but now it's time to get serious. Viper is going down." Jesse nodded in agreement.

"Let's go!" They walk forward, towards the building.

He should be up there somewhere…he would be at the top of the place, the highest room, Jesse remembers. And it should be quite a duel.

"Jaden! Jesse!" A voice yells from behind them.

They turn around, and they see most of the crew. Syrus, Hassleberry, Jim, Alexis, Audre, Link, and Zelda have all come for them. Syrus held out a bowl of water for Jaden.

"I brought this for you, you seemed really tired."

Jaden smiled, "Well thanks, but I don't need it, Sy."

"Oh come on! I carried that bowl for two episodes, Jay…."

"Glad to see you're alright," Jesse said to Link.

Link nodded.

"Viper is still here?" Zelda asked.

"We assume so." Jesse replied, "We were on our way up right now." Jesse looked up at the rest of the building.

"As were we." Link said, "I want to duel him."

"That was _my_ plan…" Jaden said, "How about we both get him?" Jaden held his fist out, "No way he'll beat the both of us."

"Jay, I understand where you're coming from, because it's where I am, too. But if you would, please let me do this myself."

Jaden paused only for a moment. He looked closely at his friend. Something seems different. Whatever it is, it is a good different, and Jaden thinks Link can wipe the floor with Viper. He smiled wide and nodded.

"Let's go!" Jaden was enthusiastic.

Everyone sped to Viper now. He better be ready.

**A/N: So, I am writing like crazy, trying to make up all the time I lost from you guys. I know I already explained, but seriously, guys…I am so so SO SO SO **_**SOSOSO **_**sorry…Unless my computer decides to get fried again, nothing shall once again be lost! :) Hope you enjoy. I am excited about the duel, I don't know about you guys…**


	19. Link VS Viper Part 1

Lo! AoS – Chapter 19: Link VS Viper Pt. 1

Viper should be in the very next room. Everyone is in the elevator, on their way up to the very top floor, where Viper is rumored to be.

"What do we do if he isn't up there? Like…what if he gives us the slip?" Hassleberry asked.

"He's up there." Zelda told him.

Why else would there be so many booby traps on the way up? In the hallway further down to get to this elevator, the party was nearly stuck in between two closing doors. Somehow, everyone made it. Everyone except for an ally that made it all possible…

They met up with Axel Brodie again, and he helped them get through the doors by standing beneath them, keeping them open for everyone to pass through. Zelda hummed for him, but they knew he was alright. His voice was heard from the other side. Zelda only wanted to honor him for his bravery and his sacrifice. Hassleberry told every to not worry at all, because Axel is a soldier and he will be perfectly fine.

The elevator stopped, and the doors opened to a wide open metal area. Professor Thelonious Viper stood in the center of the place. Immediately Link held his right arm, where his duel disk was hooked up to.

"Viper! You and I have a problem…" Link yelled, "You are going to duel me!"

"Am I? No, I Have no intention of dueling you…it is Jaden I want." He looked directly at Jaden.

"You have to duel me first. And you have to win." Link replied.

Viper sighed, "Fine, insolent kid! You want to lose your life energy so badly, allow me to make that wish come true."

The ceiling above opened, and the circular area was raised up high past the building. The wind blew in Link's hair, he smelled the ocean, and he could see it as well. The academy was to the right of him, and his friends were all behind him. They were so high up, if they fell, it would be over. That, fortunately is not Viper's plan, though.

"Hold on!" Alexis yelled.

"Guys…I have a serious fear of heights."

"The only way down is to defeat me. I will defeat your strange friend, and then you're next Jaden!" Viper threatened.

Link drew five cards, as well as Viper.

"For my first move," Link drew one card, 'I have a strong hand, Aeroflos, Nayru's Harp of Time, The Dark Mirror, Twilit spirits, and Zora.' Link smiled, "For my first move, I summon Twilit Fossil: Stallord." (2400)

Zelda furrowed her brows, 'Spirits on the first turn? He must have a card in there…'

"Next, I play the spell, Nayru's Harp of Time, so I can keep my spirit monsters on the field for a bit longer than usual. I place one card facedown and end my turn."

"Nice!" Jaden fist pumped, "That's a great card he's got! How come he's not used it before?"

Zelda smiled, "Why didn't you use Neos before?"

"That's all," Viper laughed, "My go. To start things off, I play my Venom Swamp. This sends out snakes to poison your monster, causing him to lose 500 attack points."

(Stallord – 1900 ATK)

"And now, I summon Venominon, King of Poisonous Snakes." (0) "I place two cards facedown, and play the spell, Snake Rain! I choose four reptile-type monsters in my deck and send them to the graveyard. Now for every reptile in the graveyard, The King of Poisonous Snakes gains 500 ATK." (2000)

"Attack that useless stack of bones!" Viper commands.

"I play my trap!" Link activates his trap card, Dark Mirror, 'I never expected he would catch up to me so quickly!' Link smiled, 'But all that power is just going to end him, and so soon…' Link explained, "This card negates your attack, and forms a version of your monster to attack you directly, which means this duel is already half over!"

"Think again!" Viper countered, "I activate one of _my_ traps! Snake Deity's Command, so I show you one of my cards, and your spell effect is negated and the card is destroyed!"

(Link – 3900 LP)

"And now, your field is empty." Viper observed, "Don't you see? Nothing can beat me and my deck! Your efforts are futile!"

"That's is not true! You can win Link!" Syrus cheered.

"He's right! Show that snake what you can really do!" Jaden yelled.

"My draw!" Link is not discouraged yet…

"I play my Jar of Avarice, so I draw two cards, and I activate a spell, Element Mastery, so I can summon a monster with the same attribute as your Snake King, and I summon Igos Du Ikana, King of Ikana." (1900) "His ability activates when he is the only thing on my field, which he is. So you get to choose between these effects. I can either summon the Ancient Castle of Ikana, or the King's Servants."

"Good!" Zelda smiled, "The Castle of Ikana is a field spell card, and it will enhance Igos Du Ikana and get rid of this swamp, and his servants will protect Igos Du Ikana."

Viper blinked once still smirking, 'I do not want to get rid of my swamp. A couple more monsters are nothing to me. I can just destroy them!' He points, "I choose your servants."

Link took the cards from his deck, "Good choice."

He placed one card down on his disk, and two skeletons were summoned to the field. Their attack points were 1500, and their abilities together made them all more powerful.

"I place one card facedown and end my turn."

"Of course you do, because you can do nothing else. Now you remember my field spell…500 points are removed from your skeletons!"

(The King's Servants – 1000 and Igos Du Ikana – 1400)

Link grimaced. Their abilities could have worked if not for this field spell. No matter, it is just another obstacle. It is possible to push through it.

He needs a field spell, or Death Sword…anything like that.

"For my next move," Viper draws, "I play Venom Serpent. He sends a bite of poison your way by himself, taking 500 attack points from one of your monsters of my choosing." A black snake shot from the venom pool in the center of the field and poisoned Igos's servants, (500 ATK) "Now, Venom Serpent, attack the King's Servants!"

Link covered his face, and now has 3400 LP. One of the skeletons fell from the field, on the ground, but the monster was not destroyed.

"What is the meaning of this?" Viper asked.

"The King's Servants may be defeated, but you must defeat them both within a time limit, or they will come back, strong as ever, protecting their king for as long as they live."

"They're skeletons, they aren't alive at all…unlike the things of the world that are of use."

"Maybe in your world, skeletons do not walk your grounds, but where we come from, they used to live like we do. We called them Stalfos, and as evil as they are, I have come to realize that you are much worse than any walking dead creature. You hurt your students, and try to kill them. For what? What happened to you that made you so cruel to innocent people? Whatever it is, your treachery stops here!"

"He may be shootin' this a little far, but I see his point." Jesse said, "Fess up Viper! Who are you working with? No more lies! Spill the beans, and you tell us what this is really all about!"

"What ever are you talking about?" Viper asked, heavy-eyes staring straight at Link's friends.

"Don't play dumb Viper!" Hassleberry responded.

"Yeah! We're too smart to fall for that old trick." Syrus joined, "Or at least they are."

"Well since you're all so eager to find out—"

"I'll say." Jaden mumbled.

"How about a little show and tell?" Viper pulled his sleeve down, showing a grotesque bloody mass of red skin over his whole left hand.

Everyone's reaction is the same. Link grimaces in disgust and squints his eyes, not wanting to look at Viper's hand.

"A few years ago, I was the leader of an elite special forces team, something had crach landed on earth, and we were to go pick up the pieces."

"What was it?" Jaden was extremely interested.

"Our mission was clear: to retrieve the item, and to ask no questions. The matter was considered highly classified. The orders were simple, but carrying them out proved difficult. Something hit us, and when I awoke, I saw our transport was demolished, my men injured, so I continued on alone. I never failed a mission before, and was not planning to start now.

"After walking for hours, I finally reached the target, and I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but I knew I was close because I felt something extremely powerful. It called out to me, knowing my name. It promised that it could bring him back to me…"

"Who's "him"?" Jaden asked, wide-eyed.

"The creature promised to bring back my son…I could see him right in front of me! And then he was gone…"

"You?" Link was astonished and full of disbelief, "A family?"

"Yes. I had a family once, and I found it in one of the most unlikely places. It was during one of my first years of duty, my squad and I were evading capture from the enemy. We were heading to our rendezvous point to be airlifted to safety. It was then that I heard a baby crying, so I broke formation to see where it was coming from. While I was gone, my squad had been ambushed and taken captive. I saved this child at the cost of my team, so I vowed to protect him…

"A bond was formed that would last a lifetime…or so I thought. I gave him a deck one day, and a gust of wind blew them out into the streets. When he ran to go retrieve them, he was killed by the oncoming bus…this devil arm promised me that Pierce was going to come back. So I agreed to help it, and it agreed to help me."

"You've been sucking up energy for some creature so it'll bring your son back? How many more students are you willing to sacrifice for him?"

"Just two. This fool, and Jaden Yuki…Once I defeat you two, the duel energy will be used to resurrect my son and we will be reunited!"

"Professor Viper, please!" Zelda began, "Bringing back the dead is impossible. Nothing is that powerful. No unholy magic could possibly breathe life into a dead being."

"What about your little stories? Where you're from? Walking skeletons?" Viper challenged.

"They were cursed with undeath for treason against their own people! Darkness takes them over! Think this through Viper. Even if the creature _could_ bring your son back, think of what condition he would be in. Would you honestly blacken an innocent soul?"

"Shut up! Let's finish what we started!" Suddenly, the field moved around, and venomous snakes emerged from the swamp, attacking and surrounding the spectators.

"Leave them alone, Viper! You have hurt them all enough!"

Viper grinned, sinister as ever.

"The darkness has ahold of him, Zelda?" Jaden asked.

"Yes, he is not possessed, but he has been manipulated. The grief that thickens his heart has blinded him, and he does not realize it…"

"Then should we try to help him?" Jesse asked.

"I think we should try to help us!" Hassleberry panics, "We're about to be snake chow!"

"Shirley has another idea!" Jim unbuckled Shirley and she batted the snakes away.

"Thanks Shirley!" Syrus said.

"Now where were we? Ah yes, Venominon! Attack the King's Servants!"

(LP 1900)

Viper laughed, "You have not been able to attack me once!"

"That changes now!" Link draws, "First, I send one card to the graveyard in order to summon Twilit Ice Mass: Blizzeta!" (2200)

"Don't forget about the field spell. Blizzeta loses 500 attack points." (1700)

"It's still enough to defeat your Venom Serpent. Go! Crushing ice!"

After his snake was destroyed, and he took damage, Viper played his trap. (LP – 3300)

"Snake Whistle! So when one of my snakes is destroyed, I can summon a LVL 4 or lower reptile monster. And I summon Venom Snake!" (1200) "And now that another reptile has entered the graveyard, Venominon gains 5oo attack points!" (2500) "One wrong move, Link. It's soon to come."

"Man! He needs a monster with 3100 ATK or more, or he'll never get rid of that snake king." Jaden said.

"He will get him…have faith." Zelda whispered.

"No problem." Link looked at his hand, 'I need a card powerful enough to defeat Venominon, or a card that will weaken him…I don't have one now…but maybe it will show up soon. Until then, I need to be on the defense. All my monsters grow weaker by the minute. Hmm…the least I can do is destroy his other snake monster. Wait! I could defeat Venominon! I just have to remember that card that can…I have just the cards to get there, too.' Link places a spell on his duel disk, "My next move is a spell card, Spirit-Switch-Up! So I send Blizzeta to the graveyard, and I can switch her up with another spirit monster from my hand or deck, and I choose the Twilit Dragon: Argorok!" (2900)

"Yeah!" Syrus yelled.

"It's not enough to defeat Venominon, but now it's all Link has to worry about!"

Argorok is poisoned, and his ATK goes down to 2400, "Now before I attack, I will let you know his special ability. Argorok can use any monster's special ability so long as it is in the graveyard. It matters not which side the monster was on, so I will take your Venom Serpent's ability and poison Venominon back down to 2000 ATK!"

"He can defeat Venominon now!" Jesse said.

"Yeah! Go Link!" Syrus cheered again.

"Argorok, attack Venominon!" Link commanded.

(Viper's LP – 2900)

"Very clever, but it won't win you the duel. No matter how you bend rules in your twisted little deck, you still have to follow the most important one, and that's your monster goes to the graveyard at the end of this turn."

"Aye, he does. But he served his purpose. Now I that your Venominon is gone—"

"Not quite!" Viper replied.

"What do you mean!?" Link yelled fiercely.

"Venominon may have been destroyed in battle, but he is not so easily defeated. All that's needed for Venominon to reclaim his throne is a small sacrifice. From my graveyard, I must banish a loyal subject." (2000)

"So what? He's invincible?" Alexis seemed angry.

They all were at this point.

'Looks like I am going to need Death Sword. He will solve all my problems. All I have to do is wait until I draw him. Well…His Venom Snake only has 1200 ATK. I could destroy him with Igos Du Ikana, but is it really worth it? Venominon will gain 500 ATK if I do, and I will have to try harder to defeat him. Well…I need to. I will get a direct attack next turn if I don't.'

"Alright! Igos Du Ikana, attack Venom Snake!"

Viper laughed again, "You realize you only give me power by doing this." (LP – 2700)

Venominon now has 2500 ATK.

"I will find a way around it. Believe me," Link puts Igos Du Ikana in DEF mode, (2000) and ends his turn with a face down.

"Well then…my turn." Viper draws, "I summon Venom Boa in ATK mode." (1600) "This snake can poison your monsters twice! And let's not forget about my swamp! Your skull king has been dethroned. There can only be one king in the swamp!" As Igos Du Ikana was destroyed, Link remained defenseless.

"It's over. Venominon, attack Link directly!"

"I play my trap! It's called Bait Bag, and it summons 3 Pig Tokens in DEF mode!" (100)

"No matter. You are only postponing the inevitable."

"That's what you all say before you lose." Link told him defiantly.

"Hn! I place a facedown and end my turn."

"Really, Viper? That's it? Nothing left for me? Fine!" Link drew.

'If only you had a monster on your field. _Then_ I would have blown you away. Your deck isn't even worth all my energy.' Viper thought.

Link observed his hand and smiled, 'Looks like I won't need Death Sword after all…' He holds up a card, "Well, he isn't the most powerful creature, but he is the most beautiful. I summon a Zora in ATK mode. And due to his special ability, I can summon another." (1200)

"For my next move, I sacrifice both of the Zoran to bring about a serpent of my own, The Light Spirit of Lanayru!" (3000 2500)

"Poison the light all you want, but it will not be demolished by the likes of you. I activate Lanayru's special ability. He cannot attack after this, but he can destroy your monster right now! Since you hold dark-attributed monsters, Lanayru needs to be here to put an end to your dark reign!"

Viper's best card on the field was destroyed, but he did not panic at all.

"Don't you understand what just happened?" Link asked.

"Oh I do. Just let me know when you are done."

'I still have Aeroflos in my hand. I can negate any spell or trap once per turn, so his Venom Swamp would be useless for a time, and he also has that facedown. But if I use this, I cannot use spell or trap cards. What if I need one? Death Sword will work no matter what, but I just put myself in a good place. Viper may still have some tricks up his sleeves. I should save this for later.' Link lowered his hands, "I end my turn."

"What is different about him?" Alexis asked aloud, "I know he's acting differently, but I can't tell what it is."

"He has become what he was always meant to be," Zelda answered, "He's been having a hard time lately, knowing who he is, and who his friends really are. I think he has finally come to realize that not all humans are bad."

"So, you think he's done disliking us all so much?" Jesse asked.

Zelda scoffed slightly, "He never disliked you, he is just cautious around new faces. He has this wall up all the time, you know? When he realized that Viper was behind all of this pain and suffering you all have been going through, he immediately wanted to get payback." Zelda looked at them, "Link loves you. You're his friends, he is just difficult sometimes, believe me."

"That's true. Last year was really interesting while he was here. He looked at us like we were his friends, and he was civil with Zane even…" Jaden said.

"He makes these comments at times, like he truly does hate humankind." Jim told them.

"That was the wall speaking," Zelda replied, "Listen to him duel now. You know he let the walls down."

"How amusing. That is what this is?" Viper chuckled, and his laughter grew louder, "This is your revenge? This is the only reason you wanted to duel me?"

"No, I wanted to duel you to defeat you because it is the right thing to do. My sister is right, about everything…. I want to stop you from doing this to my friends, my family and everyone else! So, that is what I plan to do!" Link yelled.

"Good luck," Viper drew, "I play my trap, Rise of the Snake Deity. Since you destroyed my Venominon with a card effect, I now get to summon Venominaga Deity of Poisonous Snakes! Like Venominon, Venominaga gains 500 ATK for every reptile in my graveyard." 3000 "Now, like a true God, Venominaga cannot be destroyed by any of your meager card effects." Now, I play Venom Boa's ability, and 1000 points are taken from your light serpent. Now the field spell activates, and that becomes 500 more attack points!"

(500 ATK)

"Venominaga, attack!"

"Is it over?" Syrus asked, saddened.

"All your efforts were in vain! You would have never been able to defeat me! And now—!"


	20. Link VS Viper Part 2

**A/N: Man, just to put this out there, I still don't know FF very well. Because when I type special things, like a line to indicate changing scenes, or arrows, they do not always show up. I promise you guys, the original files look good, as long as you can understand them well enough, I will continue to do what I do. If it becomes too much of a nuisance, let me know and I will find a solution.**

**Finally! Link has come out of his shell, right? Anyway, I am planning on bringing everything LoZ to life in this new world that they are going to end up in (remember, duel spirits are real!). AaX, I know you've been waiting! Well, I'm close to the second arc of this story. ENJOY YOU GUYS! R&R**

LoZ! AoS – Chapter 20: Link VS Viper Part 2

Link – 1900 LP

Viper – 2700 LP

Link's field – Light Spirit Lanayru (500 due to Venom effects) and 2 Pig Tokens each in DEF (100)

Viper's field – Field spell Venom Swamp, Venominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes (3000) and Venom Boa (1600)

"You never had a chance!" Viper yelled, "Venominaga, attack!"

Instead of Venominaga's fangs sinking into the light spirit, one of Link's Pig Tokens jumped in the way. No damage was taken, and now Venominaga cannot attack again. Link smiled. By the beginning of his turn, this duel will be so much easier to take.

"Your loyal pigs protected your light spirit. Is that what you people rule over where you're from?"

"Please!" Link scoffed, "You have no respect for your _own_ snakes, I would never expect you to see the worth of other animals."

Viper played a spell from his hand for his final move, "Venom shot! So as long as I send one Venom monster to the graveyard," His Venom Boa vanished and Venominaga now has 3500 attack points, "I can take 1000 attack points from one of your monsters. Ultimately destroying it!"

Link's Lanayru also vanished, and with his disappearance, a new field emerged.

"What is this?"

"Link was able to get rid of Venom Swamp! Good job, baby brother…" Zelda smiled.

"Welcome to my Realm of Twilight! Well…it isn't mine." Link's Pig Tokens were destroyed and all that remained was Viper's Venominaga, "You brought this upon yourself."

"So…by destroying light, you bring on darkness? Or in this case twilight?" Jesse looked around.

"Makes sense…" Jaden replied, also mesmerized at the blackness of the sky.

Somehow, through the darkness, this place seemed like the regular world.

"That is so…strange." Jim said longingly.

Even Shirley was shocked.

"What—what is this?" Viper asked, still remaining angry.

"By destroying Lanayru, you have brought the Twilight Realm here. And since your Venominaga is not a Twilit monster, he loses 1000 ATK. How does it feel to be poisoned?" (2000)

Viper narrowed his eyes at Link, "I end my turn."

"And so soon? Now, time to finish this!" Link drew a card, "I play the Cane of Pacci spell card. So I send the one card left in my hand to the graveyard in order to draw a new hand of three cards."

Link prayed for a good hand and when he looked down, he was enlightened to see Twilit monsters!

"Hah! I summon Twilit Parasite Diababa!" (1900)

"It is not enough even with your field spell!"

"Actually it _is_ enough with the field spell!" Diababa's ATK increased by 1000 (2900)

"Thanks to the Twilight Realm, Diababa is much more powerful! Attack Venominaga!"

"Good. You were able to defeat him, but it will not be enough! I banish 1 reptile monster, and he comes back!" (2500 (1500 due to Twilight Realm)) "And since you were able to land a hit on me, I play my trap! Damage = Reptile. So I can summon a monster less than or equal to the battle damage I took. So I summon Venom Cobra!" (100)

"Fine by me…it only has 100 ATK."

"It's enough to attack you directly next turn when you have no monsters on the field." Viper smiled. (1800 LP)

"Right…I place one facedown and end my turn."

"Great! Now, I draw! And I summon to the field Venom Snake." (1000)

Link grew wide-eyed. He's going to have to take two direct attacks, and then he'll have 800 life points left. He thanks the gods that the other monster in his hand, Twili, is not a spirit monster.

"Attack Venom Cobra, and Venom Snake! And now, attack Venominaga!"

"I play my trap! Requiem of Spirit, so your attack is negated." Link panted.

"Again, you are only dragging this whole thing out." Viper perked up for a moment, 'Well, Jaden isn't suffering like it wanted, but it just may get all the energy it needs from this duel, and then even more from Jaden…' He smiled threateningly, "I end my turn with a face down."

"I draw,"

"Come on Link! You're so close!" Syrus yelled.

Link looked over his shoulder at his friends, and he nodded, 'Am I? I need to get those reptiles out of Viper's graveyard somehow, and I need to keep those two on a leash. If I can just summon a monster powerful enough, or get some Sol of Twilight equip spells, I can power the Twili up and end the duel. I will not be able to attack all of them, and I need a monster with at least 1900 ATK to win. But wait! That face down… If I don't make a huge difference this turn, I lose. Come on deck… Give me the card I need!'

Link draws. This could work out…

"Alright, I summon a Twili." (500) "Thanks to the Twilight Realm, he gains 1000 attack points," (1500) "And I place a card facedown. Now, Twili, attack Venom Snake!"

"Chipping away at my life points little by little…did you really expect to win this duel?"

"Well, it isn't over yet! You've seen Jaden duel! Like he says, a duel is _not_ over until the last card is played. And the last card has not yet been played."

(1300 LP) 'He is getting a little close,' Viper said, 'It just may be time for this duel to be over…while the last card has not been played yet, it will be very soon, and it will be played by me.' Viper thought, 'I cannot play my facedown yet, and this one is useless because he destroyed my Venom Swamp…pesky child.'

"So, now I end my turn."

"Draw!" Viper looked at his hand, 'This trap is not completely useless, I suppose.' He points at Venominaga, "Since you destroyed a reptile monster last turn, Venominaga gains 500 attack points again, and he can now destroy your little Twili!" (2000) "But first, I am going to play the spell card Foolish Burial, so I can take any card in my deck and send it to the graveyard. Can you possibly guess what kind it could be?" Venominaga's attack points increase to 2500, "It was only a blood offering so a god could become even more powerful! Now, Venominaga, attack the Twili!"

"Now I activate _my_ trap, the Cane of Byrna! Your attack will hit my Twili, but not before I can take half of your Venominaga's attack points and add them to my Twili's attack points!" (1500 to 2750) "This trap card acts as an equip spell. So from now on, my Twili's attack points are his 1500 plus half of your Venominaga's!"

Viper is left with 1050 LP. Link's friends howl in victory. Now it is Viper that has to think outside the box! He removes from play one of his reptile monsters in order to bring Venominaga back, causing both of their monster's ATK to decrease. (Venominaga's ATK: 2000 and Twili's ATK: 2500)

"Now what are you going to do snake?" Link asked, teasing the Professor.

Viper felt a tinge of fear in his chest, but he did not let it stop him, "It seems I've underestimated you. However, you cannot blame me, because I saw you and your sister duel. So disappointing at the end for you there…"

"I've finally found myself. I'm a good person, and a good duelist. So now, you are going to lose!"

"Twili, attack Venom Cobra!" Link pointed.

At contact, Viper screamed, "NO!" And Link won the duel, "My son!"

"He did it!" Syrus yelled.

"He sure did…" Audre finally spoke through all this.

The bio-bands activated, and both of them fell as yellow sparks flew into the air and back down through the ground. Before anyone could react, a yellow pulsating being stood before Viper. It echoed words around the world and put its grotesque hand on Viper's face, doing something…shocking him? Suddenly the ground began to shake and white lights surrounded the arena. It was blinding enough before the white light grew brighter and longer.

It blinded everyone, and the next thing they remember is being in the arena, in a different place. The ocean was gone.

"This isn't the Duel Academy I remember." Jim said.

Zelda knelt to Link, helping him up.

"What is this place?" Alexis asked.

"And what with all the sand? Where'd the ocean go?" Hassleberry asked.

"We obviously relocated." Audre stated.

"Yeah, but…where?" Jesse asked.


	21. Into Another Dimension

LoZ! GX – Chapter 21: Into Another Dimension

Jaden and Zelda provided support for Link's weak body as they observed their surroundings. Sand, sand, sand everywhere. To the left of the sky there were three bright shining suns.

"That explains how the ocean dried up into a giant desert." Alexis stated.

Jim pointed at Duel Academy, "Look at those rock configurations, you see how they aren't soft and rounded—how it just cuts off like a cliff?" he unbuckled Shirley and put her down, "I wouldn't say that the ocean disappeared, friends. It looks like it was never here in the first place."

"But…how—?" Syrus shook his head.

"That only means we are in an even stranger place than we expected." Audre said, "Do you think it is just a mirror building? Like..." He glanced at Zelda.

She shook her head as a response, "This is no world I have ever seen or heard of."

"Well," Jesse looked up at the Academy, "I guess the first step would be to go on to the academy. Maybe we can find some answers."

On the way up, Syrus tripped into the sand.

"Man down!" Hassleberry shouted.

"Something grabbed my leg!" Syrus panicked.

He looked back at his leg, and everyone noticed Axel Brodie. It looks like he kept his promise of being right behind them. Jesse and Hassleberry helped Axel up, and they all marched to the academy building.

Up at the academy entrance, the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor stood, staring, gaping at their surroundings. They were nearly speechless, thinking only about how badly this could affect their jobs. The parents will not be happy about this situation. Just when they both were close to losing hope, they saw a shadow in the sky.

Assuming it was help, they both shouted and waved at the distance aircraft to save them.

"It's a bird!" Crowler shouted.

"No it's a plane!" Bonaparte argued.

"No! It's a…" Crowler put his hands down, and Bonaparte followed suit.

As the flying object came closer, they could see more clearly. It is too small and feathery to be a plane, too big to be a bird, and too brightly colored to be a human. Who ever heard of a flying human anyhow?

"What _is _that?" Crowler asked, not truly expecting Bonaparte to know.

"Is it a—?" Bonaparte was interrupted by the abrupt screech that escaped the creature's throat.

With its long, yellow talons it grabbed Crowler by the shoulders and tried to fly off.

"Help me!" Crowler shouted, "Grab me! Grab me!"

Bonaparte used all his leg power to jump up and grab Crowler's legs. The flying creature with pink feathers continued to fly up and away with both of them.

"You're too heavy!" Crowler complained, "Let me go."

"Make up your mind!" Bonaparte answered, but did not let go.

Suddenly, the both of them fell to the ground, and a white Pegasus flew to the ground, keeping the adults safe from hurt. They panicked until they saw the creature, a Harpie Lady, vanish like a monster in duel monsters. Jesse's Sapphire Pegasus also vanished, but he returned to Jesse's hand.

"All the rules of duel monsters must apply here." Jesse said as Winged Kuriboh nudged Jaden.

"You're right, Jesse!" Zelda grinned, "Look at the spirits! They are alive here. I _have _heard of places like this before. Here, they aren't spirits. They are creatures, like any other animal."

"So, any idea what it is called?" Link asked, to which Zelda replied with a shake of her head.

"Alright, come on." Jesse said, "We need to get Link and Axel to Nurse Florence."

The group walked inside the academy and all together went to Nurse Florence's office. Link did not seem as weak and fragile as he usually did in similar situations, but he was not as strong as he is in general. Nurse Florence checked his heart with a stethoscope. Luckily, she smiled and pulled away.

"Surprisingly, you will be perfectly fine. It seems as though you were less affected, or you grew stronger from surviving last time." She told him, "You can put Axel right there. Now where could you go, Link?"

Jesse and Jim placed Axel down gently on an empty bed; the only empty bed in the room.

Zelda sat next to Link and put her arms around his neck, "You are a _true_ Hylian, ori." She whispered to him.

"…then Professor Stein disappeared. Then this guy Trapper disappeared, then Viper disappeared!" Jaden was explaining.

Chazz stood up from his bed, "He can have this bed. The Chazz is out of this dump!" At removal of his blanket, three colored and strange-looking beasts sat in the bed.

"Please boss! You will only get sicker without your rest!" One of them begged.

"Get out of my bed you three!" Chazz yelled, "Why are you guys here? What's goin' on?" Chazz asked.

"We are in another world where duel spirits come to life." Alexis stated.

Crowler sighed in near defeat. Both he and Bonaparte complained about being manhandled by a monster, seeing their lives flash before their eyes.

"Come on!" Syrus snapped, "You are the adults here! Shouldn't you be deciding what we do from here?"

"I know what we do," Alexis said, "We need to gather everyone we can find in one place and and gather information."

"Aye," Audre agreed.

Jesse nodded, "We should make the gym our HQ."

"Was _that_ so hard?" Syrus snapped again.

Link smirked and whispered to Zelda, "Never heard him like that before…"

"You think it's funny?" Zelda asked in a whisper, also smiling.

Link frowned, "Well…we'll talk later." Link does not want to say aloud what he is really thinking.

He believes that Syrus has changed behavior just slightly due to the fact that Jaden and Jesse are closest buddies now. He sounded pretty angry, so he probably was finally letting out some of that bottled-up steam on Crowler and Bonaparte for being cowards. He should be fine for a few more days now if Link is right.

Within an amount of time, the team gathers every student they can find and brings them to the gymnasium. They are all rallied together in the center while the main party stands up on a platform. Jesse and Jim both try desperately to calm everyone down. The sea of Slifer Red, Ra Yellow, and Obelisk Blue jackets are all murmuring with great fear. Calmness is out of the question here.

"Everyone please remain calm!"

"Remain calm?!" Some of the students try to leave, but Shirley keeps them from leaving, "School's out as far as I'm concerned…"

Jim held his hands out, "We are dealing with an environment none of us are familiar with. Shirley is likely the nicest thing you will all find if you leave, so I suggest you all stay put."

"Stay put?! What if people are out looking for us already?"

Jesse took the stand now, "Listen ya'll. I know there's been whispers of duel spirits coming to life, and it's true. That's why we have to be extra careful of our surroundings." By this time, everyone has calmed down remarkably.

The students are all doing what they need to in order for this next adventure to be easier.

Axel was sleeping across the curtain. Zelda sat next to Link's body. He was trying to fall asleep for a moment, and he sat up.

"Link, you really should rest. I know you have been feeling much better, but anybody would be exhausted after what you just went through." Zelda said gently.

"I am, I just…what do you think of Jesse?" Link asked.

Zelda raised a brow, not expecting such a question.

"He's nice. Why?"

"He reminds me of Jaden at times. They are pretty similar people. And…I think Syrus feels bad. Like, left out or something. I don't think he likes Jesse a whole lot. I kind of wonder if it feels anything like how I did." Link whispered.

Zelda brushed Link's hair back, "Have you asked him?"

"I spoke to him…wow! It feels like forever ago. I've been in this situation a lot." Link referred to the hospital bed, "Just promise me I'll be out of this bed tomorrow morning. I hate being stuck here."

Zelda nodded, "Of course, Link."

At least they all had food to last. Unfortunately, though, Miss Dorothy said there was only enough food and water for a week. That's a week to get out of here…

The food wasn't exactly what one would call "palace" food, but it was enough to survive. There were minor complaints by the students, but Jim whipped them right into shape. They could all have been eating nothing at all.

A familiar face appeared in the gym at some point. He was to the very far end, opposite the usual party. Adrian Gecko shouted from across the way. They established that they were all fine.

"I'm glad to hear it," Adrian smiled, "Anyway, I found something. Outside, there is a slow-moving thing on its way here. Not sure if it is a hostile or not, but I think we should check it out."

"Aye, thanks for the heads-up, mate." Jim gave a thumbs-up.

Jim and Shirley, Jesse, Audre, and Adrian went out to figure this out, and everyone else stayed behind to make sure everything was remaining calm.

In the direction that Adrian led everyone in, they came across the pink-haired Harpie Lady.

"She's back!" Jesse pulled out Sapphire Pegasus, "C'mon Sapphire Pegasus! Attack that Harpie Lady again!"

The Harpie Lady dodged with a big, toothy grin. Blue lights and yellow designs then flowed around her.

"What's going on?" Jim inquired.

"Well, all the rules of duel monsters apply here, like my Sapphire Pegasus being able to attack and destroy her from before, but it looks like that's not all that applies." Jesse observed, "Looks like she just played a spell."

From behind the Harpie Lady, her two harpie sisters came from behind her. They all attacked Sapphire Pegasus savagely. The great winged horse then fell to the floor. Jesse panicked for him as the Harpie Ladies simply laughed. They were going for a final blow, but Audre played a trap card for them, The Mirror of Twilight. The harpies destroyed themselves then.

"Thanks," Jesse nodded at Audre, "Come on back Sapphire Pegasus. I'm sorry that happened to you."

Adrian pointed to the side, "Look, there's the thing I saw."

The group sped towards the creature, and as they got closer, they began to recognize him as a human. He is not in very good shape, but he is definitely not a bad guy. Dehydration and hunger has overtaken the poor man, and he lights up when he sees people.

It is Bastian Misawa.

Just for a moment, Link gets time to himself. Zelda said she would be right back, and she is gone. Once she is out of sight, Link gets up, painfully and slowly, but he manages. For some reason his body is perfectly fine! There is not as much pain, his heart is steady…

On impulse, Link literally runs out of there. He runs through the halls, so fast that his hair is blowing back, and he is cooling down. His heart feels healthy! Stopping, he puts his hand over his heart, still steady, but faster. Link actually feels _good_. He smiles a real smile and sped walks through the halls, doing summer salts and front flips, jumping off the walls like he used to do when he was healthy.

It feels wonderful to be Hylian again!

While running through the halls, he accidently bumps into Blaire. His big smile still present.

"Wow…you look happy." Blaire said, surprised.

"I feel happy. I feel good. My heart is…" Link noticed a shy boy behind Blaire, "Who's your friend?"

"This is Marcel, Marcel," Blaire pulled the boy with the bowl-cut up close, "This is Link."

He nodded once, and said nothing.

"Are you alright?" Link asked, his breath slowing somewhat.

Marcel glanced up once, and Link could tell by the look in the boy's eyes that he was upset. It was hard to explain, but Marcel had this look in his eye, that reminded Link of himself at one point. Did he hear voices in his head? Was he being possessed, or was he just depressed?

"We are going to one of the classrooms to sleep for safety for the night…do you know anything about this…place?"

"It's a duel spirit world. Duel spirits are real here." Link explained.

Blaire sighed, "Oh, gosh…that is bad."

Link smiled, "Not necessarily. It can be a great thing. You just have to open up."

"Like you did…?" Blaire smiled back.

He nodded in reply, "Exactly like I did."

"I can tell you are very different now. Was it me?"

Link blushed, and nodded again. It is strange to admit, but she really did show him who he was again. At least, she helped do so. Link left her there with a "thank you", and he was on his way back to the nurse. Zelda may be having a panic attack at this point.

Adrian and Jesse brought Bastian in Nurse Fonda's office. Zelda was sitting at Link's empty bed, rubbing the blankets. She did not look sad, she looked furious.

The guys decided not to bother her, as Nurse Fonda treated Bastian.

"So," Jaden, who has been in the office for a little while, started, "What happened to you Bastian. One day, you were here, and then you POOF! Disappeared. I didn't even really notice…"

Bastian ignored that last part, "After I built that dimension travel machine for Zelda and Link to get home, I started tinkering a bit more. When I was in the society of light, I remember Doctor Eisenstein, working along with him. We believed there is about thirteen dimensions, alternate to ours, and…well, we found one, opened it up, and I was accidently brought in here." Everyone could tell that Bastian was careful in his word choice.

He knows Jaden would not understand a word if he told him exactly what happened with proper names, so he did not even bother trying.

"Sounds intense…" Jaden said.

"So, any information on what this place really might be?" Jesse asked.

"It's a duel monster spirit world, where they rule, they come to life and take form…all of them." Audre replied.

Nurse Fonda sighed, "It is getting late, you all. We should all try and get some sleep."

Everyone agreed, and went to sleep somewhere in the building. Hopefully, they will all be safe here like this.

Zelda, however did not sleep. She stayed sitting up in Link's bed, waiting for him. How dare he decide to just get up and go somewhere? Does he have any idea how worried she is? She wrapped herself up in a blanket and waited patiently for him to come back. Unfortunately, he was very late coming back. Zelda started to worry even more, her anger disappearing.

Her ears twitch. There is something going on outside, not too far from here. She looks at the door. For a few seconds, there was nothing. She heard a girl's laughter, and then orange light outside the door. As quickly as it came, it disappeared. Zelda stood up.

**There is something sinister out there. Don't get killed. I still need you.**

Zelda ignored the voice and walked toward the door slowly. Suddenly, there was a scream. Zelda zoomed outside, and ran to where she heard the scream from. Behind her, Axel trailed close behind. He must have been awake the whole time.

On the hallway floor just ahead, two bodies lie on the ground. There is no sign of the source of the orange light. One of the bodies is Blaire Flannigan, Zelda notices, and the other causes her heart to stop. Link lies face down on the ground.

'Not again…' Zelda panicked.

Both Blaire and Link had a similar mark on their arms. It was a glowing, yellow injury that resembled a cut of sorts. Blaire's was on her left wrist, diagonal down towards her body. Link's was the exact opposite. His injury was on his right bicep, diagonal up towards his body. It looks like they were side-by-side and something attacked them both at the same time.

Zelda and Axel carried them back to the Nurse's office and tried to figure out what in the world this injury could be.

She sighed, 'What happened to you?'


	22. Company

LoZ! GX – AoS Chapter 22: Company

Zelda decided to stay with Link and Blaire while the rest of the gang went to ask Chancellor Crowler if they could go out to find some medicine for them. Nurse Fonda had explained before that she had no medicine for this injury anymore. While she can keep them alive with little to no problems, the party wanted them up and alright.

Currently, Zelda wanted him up more than anything. He just got up from the hardest years of his life, and he was knocked down again by something clearly supernatural. Not even in Hyrule has she ever seen any injury so outlandish. From the stories Jaden has told in the past about his duel adventures and the things he and his friends had to do to save the world, "supernatural" is not a word that makes anyone crazy.

Cautiously, Zelda put one of her hands on his chest. His heart is normal, and so is his breathing, but…

The door from behind Zelda opened up, and she looked in the way. Jaden was there.

"Jaden? What are you doing here?"

"After convincing Crowler to let us go, we thought that someone should stay here with you and Link. I volunteered."

Zelda raised a brow, "And miss an adventure? There might be dueling." Zelda smiled.

Jaden nodded, "I thought that through…imagine that!" Jaden shook his head and crossed his arms, "Anyway, I just really thought you could use company or something." Jaden did not want to be insensitive, but the one major reason he was here was because he wanted to finally get that duel.

Maybe if he waited just a little bit, she will be up to it. So, Jaden sat down next to Zelda and looked at Link and Blaire.

"What do you think happened to them?" Zelda asked.

Jaden shrugged, "No idea."

Zelda nodded and rubbed Link's hand and knuckles, "He was just getting healthy…" She whispered.

"How did that thing he had just go away? It was all of a sudden."

Zelda smiled slightly again and told Jaden, "It was a type of Hylian disease, as you know, and it wasn't obtained by infection, or by genes like human diseases. His illness came from stress and unhappiness. It is very rare, but it can happen."

"So…he's like, fine now?"

"Well, no," Zelda gestured to his cut, "But as far as his heart goes, it is healed."

"Wow…I never had a Hylian disease before…obviously." Jaden scratched the back of his head, "But once, I _did_ get sick somehow because of stress. I lost in a duel against Aster Phoenix, and…well I couldn't see my cards anymore."

"What?" Zelda looked at him, puzzled.

"Yeah, they were blank. White…I think I had some weird dream, illusion, thing, and when I woke up, I was on Academy Island somewhere with a new deck.

"When did this happen?" Zelda asked.

"It was last year after you guys left. Aster had shown up a little, but he wasn't here full-time." Jaden sighed, "Good times."

Zelda smirked and looked back at her brother. Several moments of silence passed by, and Jaden again broke it in half.

"I have been hearing things lately." He said abruptly and quietly.

"Hearing things? Like…noises or voices?"

"It is a voice. A girl's voice it sounds like. It's kind of scary, actually. I have no idea where it is coming from, why she sounds…so familiar, but I think she wants to hurt me somehow."

Zelda's eyes widened, "Is it like Majora?" She recalls the voice in her head, too.

Usually, the voice is quiet, like today, and it does not torment Zelda everyday like it did Link.

"Is it an everyday thing?" She asked.

"Well…I don't know. I know it happens a lot. You wanna know something strange?"

Zelda nodded.

"I knew we were coming here. I mean…I've been here before. I recognize the three suns, all the sand. She spoke to me here a lot. I think whatever Viper was working with or for, _she_ was the one." Zelda looked down at Link.

"Who is "she", Jaden?"

"I told you, I don't know…but she is not happy."

Zelda blinked, "You can't think of anything? You don't know any girl that would want to hurt you?"

"No…" Jaden thought.

"…Never had a," Zelda did not want to say this out loud for some reason, "A girlfriend, Jaden?"

Jaden looked at her, "Uh…my duel disk?" That meant no, but they both laughed.

"Come on, Jaden…"

"I've never had a girlfriend. I like dueling too much for that."

"Speaking of, I owe you, don't I?" Zelda smiled.

"Owe me…?"

Zelda rolled her eyes, "A duel, Jaden."

Jaden nodded, "Oh yeah!" Now he feels better about it since she asked, "I know this isn't the best time, but I was thinking maybe later."

Zelda nodded, "We'll make time after Link is alright."

Jaden nodded, "Agreed."

Bastian had pointed out earlier that he noticed a submarine on his way to the academy. He was leading Jesse, Jim, Axel, Adrian, and Alexis to the destination. The submarine should have a first-aid kit, and hopefully, that first-aid kit will contain the necessary medicine to heal Blaire and Link. If not, they are going to have to get creative.

Further ahead, the group saw some complications. A couple of monsters were trudging back and forth, back and forth directly into Bastion's path.

"Looks like we have company, you guys." Jesse said.

"Don't worry," Jim tapped his hat up, "I'll stay behind and handle them."

"Are you sure?" Adrian asked, worried.

"Too right, mate. You get to that medicine, and I'll meet you on the other side." Jim nodded with a thumb up.

The rest of the group shifted over to the sides so Jim could charge directly into the line of fire.

"Hey you!" He yelled, catching the monsters' attentions, "Duel!"

His boomerang-shaped duel disk was popped out, and Jim was ready to duel them both. He pulls cards from his deck, and summons Weathering Soldier (2000).

"Good luck…" He nods to his friends.

Bastian sped up, seeing the submarine, "There it is! You see it?" His weak legs then collapsed beneath the sand.

"You alright, Bastian?" Alexis shouted.

"It was a bad idea for him to come. He still isn't fully healed…" Axel said.

"Well neither are you, and he is the only one that knows where the submarine is." Jesse replied.

Suddenly, Bastian yelled out in panic. The sand he fell upon is now sinking, becoming a steep valley. Axel wasted no time to react. He swiped out a long and sturdy rope from his belt pouch, and handed the end to Adrian. With a grip of steel, Adrian held the rope up. Axel jumped down.

"Bastian! Grab my hand!" Bastian was barely holding on to consciousness, so Axel had to grab Bastian by the collar.

"Pull us up!" Axel yelled as soon as he had a sure grip on Bastian.

There was a delay. Axel looked up, a hint of worry tainting his heart. Adrian's grip was loose. It looked as if he was about to let go. Jesse thought of it more as Adrian was just losing his grip because the two were heavy, so he grabbed the rope and began to pull with Adrian.

Axel pushed Bastian up first, and Jesse grabbed Bastian with both hands and pulled him out of the sand valley. Axel was able to get himself up. He and Adrian shared distasteful stares at one another.

"What happened?" Axel asked, sounding less than happy.

"I reckon it wasn't the easiest task," Jesse said, "We need to get Bastian back to the academy. He led us to the submarine; that was all he needed to do. Now he needs to relax."

"And…what?" Alexis inquired, arms crossed, "One of us is going to carry Bastian across this place again and if we get attacked…it's over?"

"She has a point." Axel said, "We need to get to the submarine. It is closer, and he can relax there until he can carry himself."

They nodded, and the ground began to shake. From the lowest part of the valley, a large being on a pillar of rock stood and was being raised.

"Looks like another duel," Jesse got his duel disk ready, "I'll get this one."

"You sure?" Axel looked up at the creature.

"Yeah, go on, get!"

Axel nodded and led the group with Bastian on his shoulders to the submarine. Once they got close, the looked back. Jesse was taking a beating so far, but he will pull through. Axel opened the entrance hatch and let Adrian and Alexis in first, then he jumped down.

"Alright," Axel set Bastian down, "We need to split up, look for food, water, and that first aid kit. Anything else that could ever be helpful, grab it. It looks like this place is abandoned, so don't be modest, and if you find someone…bring them here. Help them, whatever they need."

They nodded and left to scavenge. They were gone for a little while, and there was a violent shake in the ground, like an earth quake. It did not last very long at all, and then it was completely silent. Everyone was still gone when both Jim and Jesse jumped down the hatch. They won their duels!

"Alexis and Adrian went to find supplies, it would be best if you go, too."

Jesse nodded, "Jaden gave me this list of first aid supplies I need to find, so I'll work on that."

"Good on'ya, mate. We'll be back."

Axel laid his head back and sat down next to Bastian, closing his eyes. Finally a moment of relaxation; a breath of silence!

**Go out there.**

Zelda heard the taunting voice. Go out where? She simply ignored it.

**Someone is waiting for you, just go. It won't hurt, I promise.**

Like Zant's promises mean anything, 'Go away! Go away!' Zelda held her head in her hands.

"Headache?" A boyish voice from beside Zelda asked.

She looked over at Jaden, "Yes, a monumental and annoying headache…"

**You really like I am monumental?**

'I also said annoying.' She smiled at Jaden, "I get them very rarely, but when they come, I just want to stab something…"

**Is that supposed to be a threat?**

Jaden scooted slightly away, "Never heard anything like that before…"

"I don't want to hurt _you_ Jaden." She laughed, "I actually like you. You are a good person, and very nice to my brother, even when he was mean towards you."

Jaden grinned, "Yeah…he was mean to _me_? I never noticed…"

Zelda giggled again, "He was sometimes…he was mean to everyone. He has changed since then, for the better."

"I noticed a change too." Jaden said.

**Go out there! It is waiting for you. It cannot go on without seeing you.**

'What are you even talking about?'

**Go and see…**

'You wish…I am not leaving this room. Not while my brother is in this state.'

…**Nayru, you are stubborn. Fine, it will wait until your beloved Ori is feeling all better!**

Zelda gulps. Something was waiting for her? It must have really wanted a conversation…or whatever it wanted, it really wanted it. She shook her head.

"You feeling ok?" Jaden asked, sounding suspicious.

"I am fine, Jay. I am just…the headache, you know?"

Jaden nodded, "I'm sure Nurse Fontaine has something in there for headaches."

Zelda thanked Jaden, but she did not leave the spot. He stood up and walked over to the nurse's cabinets. With the remedy in hand, he filled up a glass of water and handed them to Zelda.

"That should help. Hope human medicine doesn't hurt you…"

Zelda looked at the materials in Jaden's hand, "What?"

"This is medicine," Jaden raised his left hand, the one with the white capsule, "This is water so you can swallow it easier."

"Thank you, but I am fine…really. If I just relax and think happy thoughts, the pain will go away."

Jaden set it down on the table next to her, "If it gets unbearable, that will make it go away, no matter what you're thinking…"

Zelda stared at Jaden as he sat back down, and she smiled. Jaden did not do much to help her, but if much needed to be done, he would not hesitate. He really is a great friend to have.

"Thank you."

Bastian was awake when Alexis came back, carrying a blue cylinder about two feet tall or slightly more.

Jesse met the group with a metal bag in his hand, "Found the first-aid. This place had heaps of it!"

"I found the food and water. There wasn't much, but it is all in here," Alexis said, putting the metal basin down.

"I have blankets and pillows in this sheet here." Jim pointed to his back.

"Sorry guys, I found nothing." Adrian told them all, "It was like a maze down here…I found the communications center, but all the hardware was fried, so I couldn't get any info."

"Welcome back, Bastian." Jesse acknowledged, which Bastian nodded.

"I guess we just need to get back to Duel Academy then. We got what we came for." Jim turned around, and was greeted by at least four giant blue scorpions, all with 900 ATK.

"Uh-oh!" Jesse exclaimed.

"Cranky!" Jim jumped back, "I summon Shell Knight in DEF!" (2000)

The scorpions backed up, "They're retreating!"

"Let's go!" Jim yelled and they ran back into another room.

"What now?" Adrian asked once they were safe behind the door.

"I don't know but…" Jim gasped, "We have a problem!"

They all looked down at his duel disk. His Shell Knight card was facedown now, and then it was sent to the graveyard. Through the small window, they all noticed the bigger scorpion coming after them.

"I say we fight…" Jesse mumbled.

"It's what Jaden would do." Alexis nodded.

Jesse opens the door, "Then I summon Sapphire Pegasus!" (1800)

"And I summon Blade Skater!" (1400)

"I summon Cloudian Numbusman!" (1000)

"I summon Volcanic Blaster!" (1200)

"And I summon Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo!" (1200)

"Attack!" They all yelled. All that was left was the red scorpion, and a new scorpion was brought unto the field.

"They can't be destroyed in battle." Axel said.

"No problem, my Dyna's ability destroys monsters that were special summoned!"

They are left with the one yellow one, now, and it attacks Jesse's Pegasus. It feels like not only energy was sucked out from him, but his life as well. It hurt beyond belief, but he was still standing.

"You alright, mate?" Jim questioned.

"I'm good…" Jesse replied, "That monster must not have a whole lot more attack points than my Pegasus, or I got a feeling that that would have hurt a lot more…"

Alexis finishes off the duel with a ritual summon, "I play Machine Angel Ritual to summon Cyber Angel Dakini!" (2700) "Because of Dakini's special ability, that scorpion is long gone. All that is left…is the person playing the cards. Now attack Cyber Angel!"

The monsters all vanish, indicating that the duel has been won. Everyone had energy taken from them, and they were weak for a moment. They stumbled a little, and were eventually able to regain their composure.

"We have to get these things off somehow." Alexis said, dizzy.

"I agree, but first, we need to get to Duel Academy." Jesse stated, "So let's go, carefully."

**A/N: Man, after writing those last few paragraphs, it was like duel monster war! Makes me wish duel monsters was actually like that…lol. This chapter was really fun to write, and I hope you have as much fun reading it! R&R**

**As for that hero's tunic you guys keep asking for, I have a plan for it…it will show up soon, promise. ;)**


	23. Struggle

Loz! GX – Struggle

On the way back to Duel Academy, Axel leads the way. He holds up a homing device so he can take the group behind him, Bastian, Alexis, Adrian, Jesse, and Jim, back home. Thankfully, Axel picked up the fifth device, indicating the halfway point.

"We're almost there…" Axel said, feeling beads of sweat trickle all over his back and dance on his face.

"Ai!" Jim points to his right to a fossil, "How long you think he's been there?"

"I don't know, but we have to find a way out of here as fast as possible, back to our dimension." Adrian said.

"While that is true, we also need to get this to Blaire and Link. That's first priority." Jesse replied.

"I actually have a formula stirring up in my brain." Bastian said, "I can't do it all up here," He points to his head, "But when we get back, I can start working on something that may give us the answers we need in order to get back home."

"Don't hurt yourself just yet." Jesse told Bastian, somewhat in a joking manner.

They continue their walk to Duel Academy.

Zelda sat with Link still, her eyes getting heavy. Jaden patted her on the back.

"If you want, I can look after him while you nap." He offered.

She nodded, "That's sweet of you." And then she crawled under Link's blanket and tried to fall asleep next to him.

After a moment of silence, Zelda shifted, "He's cold…"

Jaden looked at Link's pale face, and then over to Blaire's pale face. Both of them look like they are in pain, and both of them look very sick. She is probably cold too, so Jaden stood up and stole a couple of blankets from empty beds and placed them over the suffering patients.

"Thank you, Jaden." Zelda whispered.

Nurse Fontaine entered the infirmary with a stethoscope around her neck, wet rags, and a small box carried by the handle.

"How are they?" She asks Jaden.

"Blaire and Link aren't doing so good, and Zelda is tired…what is this injury?" Zelda mentally smiled at Jaden's small grammar error, eyes still closed.

The nurse put the stethoscope to Link's chest. Normal heartbeat…she sighed in relief, and then set the box in her hands down on a table and opened it. She pulled out a thermometer. She placed it in Link's mouth, and took out another one for Blaire.

"I can't explain it, Jaden…it isn't normal, though."

"What do we know about it?"

Link's thermometer beeped, and the nurse pulled it out. The expression on her face then was not pleasant. She was shocked, almost terrified-looking.

"What?" Jaden asked, also panicking, "What?"

"His fever…it is at an unsafe temperature." Blaire's thermometer beeped.

When the nurse checked it, she looked even worse, "And neither is Blaire's. Your friends had better get here soon, or it could be too late."

From her box, she takes out two needles and a vile with some sort of clear-yellow liquid in it. She injects both Link and Blaire with it in their arms, and bandages them up.

"That should keep the fever a little more dormant for longer…"

"Nurse Fonda," Jaden got her attention again, "What is with this cut?"

"Whatever did it to them…well, the cut itself is just that, it is the infection that worries me."

"The yellow glow is an infection?"

"Possibly…I don't know any other word for this. What else could a yellow glow be but an infection? It is causing their bodies to react extremely. This fever has gotten to almost 106 degrees. It's a miracle they are still alive."

Jaden swallowed at the grave news. Zelda shifted slightly, covering her face by burying it in Link's neck. She believed with all her heart that he and Blaire would be just fine. Nurse Fonda sighed.

"I hope they get here with that medicine soon…"

The group made it! They can now see Dual Academy. The earth trembled slightly while they walked and from the sand emerged a monster as tall as the academy itself.

"That's Sand Moth! And it's heading' straight for Duel Academy!" Jesse pointed.

Axel pulled his gold duel disk and snapped it on his arm, "I'm on it!" He drew his cards, "Blaze Accelerator! Now, fire Volcanic Shell!"

A long and thin piece of fiery metal shot from Axel's Blaze Accelerator, and Sand Moth was destroyed. From the sand, two more Sand Moths emerged, this time, they were facing the group. Axel swung his arms to his side, gesturing for the rest of the party to move.

"You get back to the academy! I'll handle these moths…" He said as he drew more cards from his deck.

Without question, the rest of the students ran to the side and were on their way to the academy. While Axel stayed behind, Adrian, Jim, Jesse, Alexis, and Bastian made it to the academy, but no one was around.

"This is totally bizarre." Alexis mumbled.

"You would think there would be people guarding the entrance, at least they were when we left." Jim stated, putting his hands on the walls.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say this place was plumb abandoned." Jesse said.

"Well," Adrian nodded, "Let's get inside. They are probably eating or something…at the same time."

"It sounds less likely, but you are probably right about them all being inside." Jim looked up at one of the windows, hoping maybe to catch a glimpse of a shadow.

"Well, let's head inside." Jesse said.

The group agreed and walked through the doors. It was purely silent at first, but someone showed up. He wasn't acting like a normal person though…

"Excuse me?" Jesse tried to call, "Um…we have a couple questions…"

"…duel me…" Was all the Obelisk student could reply.

And behind him, an army of Obelisk and Ra students showed up and murmured the same things, "…duel…"

"What in the…? They're acting like zombies." Jim said.

"Zombies?" Jesse repeated, "No way…"

"Seriously, it sounds like they just want to duel…" Alexis stated.

In front of them, surrounding them, the duel ghouls stopped, and kept moaning for a duel.

"Still don't believe they're zombies?" Jim asked.

"Not sold, but we need to get out of here whether they are walking dead or brainwashed students…" Jesse replied.

"Agreed." Adrian nodded, "We need to get to the nurse's office to help Blaire and…the other one."

"Link," Bastian whispered.

The students remained still, but kept crying out for a duel.

"And…how do you suppose we get past the blokes? They've surrounded us." Jim stated as he glanced around.

"What do you think, Jim?" Adrian pulled out his duel disk, "We duel."

"No! Wait!" A familiar and not so much missed voice yelled.

From the sides, Hassleberry and Syrus were barging in with a cart in their hands, "Run now! Come on!"

They led the party away from there, and to safety. The safest place, it seemed, was the bathroom across the school. The nurse's office is a ways from here, so they have to find out how to get there safely.

"Sounds like we need to split up strategically." Bastian said, "My deck is no where to be found here, and I need to start working on that formula…"

Jesse sighed, "We need to contact Jaden somehow. From the nurse's office, her can fight his way—"

"No!" Syrus yelled, "We can't fight them. If we do, we become like them."

"What do you mean _like them_?" Jesse asked, "You trying' to tell me they actually are zombies?"

Adrian stayed awkwardly quiet through the whole conversation.

"It's like this," Syrus started, "The first few students got like this…they find you, challenge you, and whether they win or lose, they keep coming. They keep getting back up and keep dueling. Because of the bio-bands…you eventually just collapse and you become one of them!" He explained.

"Hm…" Jim rubbed his chin.

"So until we stop them…?" Alexis asked.

"Gym and Chancellor's office are safest places to be. They don't go there." Hassleberry exposed.

"So fighting' is off limits…we need to get to the nurse's office, pronto." Jesse held up the first aid, "We got the medicine for Blaire and Link."

"So then," A new voice sounded from the doorway, "Let's get it to them…"

They did not have much of a plan when they all go out in the open. It wasn't safe at all, but it was nearly impossible to plan for something when you hardly knew anything. These duel ghouls could show up anywhere, and there could be an army of them. Either way, the ultimate decision was to go out, and try to get all the way across the school as well as they all could, and figure out ideas on the way out.

An idea needed to come fast, too, because a group of zombified students were blocking the hallway, and they couldn't go forward. Hassleberry acted on impulse. Violently, he pushed all his friends into the classroom to the left of them. He ran through them and led them away from his friends. Not one of them stayed behind.

"Thanks Hassleberry…" Jesse whispered.

"Come on, let's find a way around," Axel said, leading them in a different direction through the other door of the hallway.

First, he checked to see if the coast was clear and silently gestured for everyone to follow him. They traveled quite a ways away before they ran into another horde of duel ghouls. This time, they all tried to run right through them, and it worked for the most part. They moved very slowly, so it was a lot easier to get away than initially thought.

"Just keep going!" Axel yelled, believing that everyone was still present.

They kept running until they could no longer see or hear them, and then they stopped for a break.

"Everyone is still here, right?" Alexis panted.

"Besides Hassleberry, I think everyone is accounted for…" Axel replied, less out of breath.

"We are actually missing one more…" Jim said after a moment, "Where did Syrus go?"

"He was left behind!" Alexis looked back, hoping that maybe Syrus would be there, "Poor Sy…"

"I'm sorry. I thought he was here. I must have miscounted." Axel said, regrettably.

"No," Jesse waved his hand, "Don't worry. Syrus is going to be ok. He just has to be."

"I hope you're right…" Alexis murmured.

"I think he is," Adrian pitched in.

"Let's keep going, I guess. Hope for the best." Axel instructed as they continued to walk forward.

"So…I'm not complaining'," Jesse began, "But could we maybe get a better plan?"

"We need to get to the gym," Axel said, "But you need to get to the Nurse's office."

In front of the party, Hassleberry stumbled along, "Hey guys!"

"Could you keep it down?" Alexis hissed, "Someone could hear!"

"Sorry," Hassleberry whispered, "Anyway…the way ahead is clear for a least a little while."

"Good, let's rush, then." Axel said and they sped down the hallway.

In the nurse's office, Zelda was sleeping, and Jaden was relaxing on a nearby chair. A loud crash snapped them both straight up. Nurse Fontaine was shouting. They switched glances and both ran out to see what was happening. When they spotted her, she had rolled a huge cabinet in front of the door. Despite this and her own weight leaning against the door with the cabinet, the door was being pushed open, and then slamming closed. Immediately, Jaden pushed on the door, and it helped a little, but their bodies still bounced off the cabinet.

"What's going on?" Jaden asked.

"I don't know…but the students don't look like they need a check-up! They're bloodthirsty!"

"What can we do, Miss Fontaine?" Zelda asked.

Suddenly, the crashing against the door stopped. And for a moment, they were gone. Jaden breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was weird…"

Zelda nodded, "So what now?"

"We need to call for help!" the Nurse got out her communications transmitter and sent out a message, a plea for help, "I hope that gets through…"

"What if it doesn't?" Jaden asked, uncharacteristically pessimistic, "I mean, we are going to need a plan for the worst case-scenario."

Zelda nodded, "Aye. Good thinking Jaden."

"Well…we really have no other option than to wait here for help."

"What if I went out and—"

"No!" Nurse Fonda yelled, "No one leaves this room. It isn't safe."

"But how is anyone going to get _here_ if I can't go out and help?" Jaden tried to persuade her, "If Blaire and Link don't get that medicine on time…"

"I think he should go. One of us should anyway, because he is right!"

"No one leaves…" Nurse Fonda commanded, "You two understand?"

They both nodded, and Nurse Fontaine sat at her desk, holding her head. Zelda silently took Jaden's hand and led him back to Link and Blaire. She whispered to Jaden, in order to keep her words from Miss Fontaine's ears.

"I think you should go out there. You are both right, but I favor your idea."

It was selfish, Zelda knew. She was willing to put Jaden in danger for the slim chance that he could speed up Link's recovery. She tried not to think of it this way. Before, she had offered herself to go out…

"But Miss Fontaine said—"

"I know, Jaden, but I don't care. They need that medicine. If they do not arrive on time…you know what will happen."

Jaden nodded, "Ok, but how do I get passed her?"

"The next time she leaves the room to get some supplies, or whatever…make a break for it."

Jaden nodded, "Ok. I will."

In the halls, duel ghouls were wandering. A group knew that Axel, Jesse, Jim, Adrian, Hassleberry, Bastian, and Alexis were traveling through here. From behind, they tried to get to catch up to them, and they almost succeeded, but Shirley gave the group a loud warning. They looked back and were shocked to see Chazz leading the way as one of them. His Ojamas were floating around him, in the same state. They were all moaning for a duel.

In front of them, they spotted another familiar person. It was Syrus! And he was normal, besides that of being terrified.

"Sy!" Jesse called, "Where were you?"

"I was hiding in my favorite locker…but…"

"But what?" Jesse looked at Syrus.

There were no black circles under his eyes, thankfully, so he was fine, at least he seemed like it.

"But…I really wanted a duel." He looked up at Jesse, duel disk out.

His eyes and voice were dead. They got Syrus! The group had to run. A cold hand grabbed onto the back of Hassleberry's collar, and he flipped them over his shoulder. It was a random Slifer student, but Hassleberry was sure to jump over his body and continue running with the rest of the group.

"That was too close, you guys!" Alexis shouted, "No more stopping until the gym!"

"Agreed!" Axel nodded.

As they ran through, they punched duel ghouls out of their way, running faster and faster through the halls. Axel heard a little beep go off in his pocket. He reached down for it and pulled up the device up to his face. Someone sent a message. It is very hard to hear. There is static bombarding the whole thing. Axel could make out some words in the message though. It sounded like Nurse Fonda, first of all, and it sounded like she needed help.

The duel ghouls! What if they find their way over there? Stuck beneath his thoughts, Axel subconsciously slowed down, and ran into a duel ghoul, the device in his hands falling out and cracking in half. The group was leaving him behind, but Axel did not complain. He knew it was for the best, and it was the plan. No more stopping until the gym! Axel was able to throw a kick and then he elbowed another student in the chest. He left the device back there and continued to run forward.

Alexis was also falling behind. Axel was not going to let her get taken if he could help it. He grabbed her arm and slung her to the side, away from the approaching ghoul. Then he slung her forward. She stumbled a little, but was thankful for the assistance. They now fell from the ceiling, tackling down Adrian and Jim. Shirley swung her body all around in an effort not to seriously injure them, but to keep them all off.

"Good, Shirley," Jim whispered, and he picked her and himself back up, and they kept running.

Adrian on the other hand, stayed back, and he rolled away. He leaned against the wall and watched as the duel ghouls looked him in the eye and ignored him. They just kept walking forward, so Adrian met another room, and left the party behind.

Bastian on the other hand, was beginning to lose his breath. Still having not been fully recovered, this running constantly is beginning to blind him. He is feeling dizzy, and he knows it is almost over for him. Well…he has no deck. If he can't duel, he can't become one of them, right? In his exhaustion, he fell to his knees, and he closed his eyes. Soon, cold hands began reaching for him, pulling at his clothes.

They soon left him, and Bastian hoped that he was safe. With that thought in his head, he let the darkness take him, and he fell into silent unconsciousness.

Jesse was getting pretty tired, but Sapphire Pegasus and Ruby Carbuncle were constantly encouraging him in his head. The box was getting heavy, but he couldn't stop yet. At this point, he was ahead of everyone. He would look at the shiny reflection of the box to see who was still behind him. Jim and his croc and Hassleberry were all that remained. Everyone else had vanished in the crowds. Duel ghouls lined up in the halls in front of Jesse, and he often just hit them with the metal box to get them out of the way. Jim was able to dodge most of them.

At the thought of Jim, Jesse got a more comfortable grip on the handle of the box. He is carrying a crocodile for Pete's sake! Jesse can handle a little box for a while longer!

Jim seemed to be doing fine. He was good about keeping pace and keeping his breathing under control. Carrying Shirley had never been a problem before, and it isn't now, especially since the adrenaline is pumping through him. The gym is close!

But the nurse's office is to a different direction.

There are a couple of doors leading to classrooms to the left. Even though the plan is not to stop, Jesse does anyway.

"What are you doing, mate?" Jim asked.

"I have an idea, come on!" Jesse opened up the doors and closed them again once Jim was in, "We have been running' from these things like crazy…what if we could lead them away?"

"The only way to do that is with live bait, and I think we've had too much of that." Jim sighed, looked out the window, thinking of everyone that was left behind.

"Well...live bait, yes. But I wouldn't use those words. Look here," Jesse placed a card on his duel disk, summoning Ruby Carbuncle, "If Ruby distracts them…you see where I'm coming from? They can't hurt her."

"Gotcha mate." Jim gave him a thumbs up, "Look! There's Axel and Bastian and Alexis!"

Jim opened the door, "In here! Jesse's got a stroke of genius."

With Bastian on his back, Axel let Alexis enter first.

"Adrian isn't with you?" Axel asked.

"Well…you were able to salvage everyone else. Did you see him?" Jesse asked.

"No, not at all…what do you think could have happened to him?"

"He couldn't just disappear…" Jim thought, "Well…I'm sure he's alright."

Axel patted his knee, "I got a message from the nurse. She's in trouble. We need to get to the nurse's office now."

"It's still so far…" Alexis said, out of breath.

"I think I know a short cut. If I remember correctly…" Axel walked down the stairs to the stage at the front of the room, "This floor panel should lead straight to the nurse's office. There will probably be no duel ghouls down there."

"Good idea…"

"Alexis," Jim put down his share of supplies, "We need you and Hassleberry to get these supplies to the gym. Don't let those ghouls overtake that place."

Alexis wanted to protest, "We should go with you…"

"Our job is just as important as theirs Lexi…" Hassleberry said, rubbing his elbow, "This has to be done."

"He's right," Jim nodded, "Can we count on you?"

"…Yes." Alexis nodded, as well as Hassleberry.

"We'll meet you on the other side." Axel saluted them.

"I summon Sapphire Pegasus," Jesse placed a card down, "Now, I need you to take Bastian to the gym. Keep him safe, alright?"

"You got it, Jesse." Sapphire Pegasus replied with a slight flap of his wings.

Alexis nodded, and she and Hassleberry made their way to the gym, Ruby Carbuncle keeping them safe.

Meanwhile, Zelda was keeping a lookout for Nurse Fontaine. She has not left the area yet, so Jaden cannot get out yet. The students began scratching at the door, and beating on it again, but it was much less violent. In fear, the nurse pushed her desk against the door as well just for more measures.

"Looks like I won't be leaving after all…" Jaden said.

"Well…I could—"

Something was beating at the ceiling. Nurse Fontaine looked up and the two students joined her. A square ceiling panel was kicked down, and an Obleisk Blue student came down, duel disk ready for a mind numbing duel. Nurse Fontaine was ready to take him on. Zelda and Jaden watched.

"Huh…" Jaden's eyes widened, "I want to duel the next one…"

"Could you focus, Jaden? We could be in serious trouble right now…" Zelda scolded.

And just after she said that, two more students came down, both facing Miss Fontaine, but Jaden shouted and got their attentions.

"I'll get the one on the left," Zelda told Jaden, getting her disk out and moving over to the left a bit.

"Got it!" Jaden nodded as he got his deck ready as well.

"Duel!"

Jesse and Axel made it to the surface. Jim stayed behind to get rid of a duel ghoul that happened to be in the way down there. A legion of duel ghouls were banging on the nurse's door.

"We need to create another diversion." Axel said, "I guess I'll go out…but first," He gets one of his long metal strings he uses to put himself in danger, "We need to get up here. You can get to the nurse's office from up here, and then I'll lead these guys away. You should get everyone in there to the gym as fast as you can after."

Jesse nodded, "Alrighty then. It's a plan." Axel pulled himself up to the ceiling, and Jesse grabbed the string, but Axel pulled him up as well.

"Good luck," Jesse told him.

Axel jumped down and got the ghouls attentions, taunting them with a challenge. Then, he ran. Jesse nodded and he crawled over. There was already a hole in the ceiling! He rushed over and dropped down into the nurse's office. There was a pile of Obelisk Blue students. Jaden, Zelda and Nurse Fontaine had their duel disks equipped.

"Jesse!" Jaden grinned.

"Hey," He held up the first aid kit, "Got those meds!"

"Good…" Zelda smiled.

Nurse Fontaine took the first-aid from Jesse and took it over to the two hurt students. She medicated them both, and the duel ghouls began to wake up.

"Uh-oh! Company!" Jesse said, "I summon Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger." He picked up Blaire gently and put her on the tiger's back, "Take her to the gym."

Topaz Tiger nodded and began walking out, and then he ran through the duel ghouls.

Zelda picked up her brother, "That was a good idea Jesse, so I summon a Goron. Follow us," Zelda said as she handed Link to the Goron, which replied with a happy "GORO."

Everyone followed Topaz Tiger to the gym. And there, both Blaire and Link's fevers fell. They were getting better and were now resting. Everyone smiled for the first time in a while.

"Good…it's good to see them feeling better." Alexis nodded.

"It is, and now we have to figure out how to save everyone else."

"Amen to that…"

"And we will do it one at a time if needed."

"And in the meantime, we'll find a way out of this place, and get back home."

"We just have to watch out for whoever is out there…"

"You mean everyone…"


	24. The Coming Dreams

LoZ! GX – AoS Ch 24: The Coming Dreams

Everyone was doing their part to help. Jesse, Jaden and Zelda were all tending to Blaire and Link. Bastian, Hassleberry and Jim were all working on barriers and fortifications to keep the duel ghouls away from their side of the school building. Syrus and Chazz already were ghouls. Alexis was keeping an eye out. Axel was preparing a league of duelists to go out and solve any problems that may be occurring. A few of them were stationed to patrol outside, and only the best duelists were patrolling at night.

Tonight, Miss Dorothy announced the first meal of the day. It was all anyone has ever been able to eat. At first, no one wanted some, but it is all they have. Jaden, Jesse, and Hassleberry are optimistic about it. And everyone else reluctantly takes their plate. Zelda stays with Link and Blaire and continues to tend to them.

"It's amazing!" Jaden exclaimed after eating the jelly-like food all up.

Jesse nodded, "Like old fudge!"

Hassleberry licked his plate up, and Miss Dorothy was soon bombarded by students, demanding more food. Everyone was still hungry.

"We need to ration it out! Quit belly-aching!" Jesse attempted to help her.

The other students tried to pick a fight. Zelda watched as she held a damp rag to Blaire's head. It looked like it was about to get bad. Luckily, Axel broke it all up from up high, threatening the three students.

Zelda sighed in relief when they walk away.

Jaden looked down at the tray of food, "Not cool…at least there are pieces left for Zelda, Blaire and Link."

"They haven't eaten yet?" Hassleberry asked, astonished.

Jaden picked up three plates with the food on it and brought it to Zelda, "Has Link woke up yet?" He asked.

Blaire had opened her eyes before and smiled in relief at everyone, but Link was still unconscious. Blaire went back to sleep after waking up because her body must have been exhausted trying to fight off whatever infection that was. After all this, Miss Fontaine fell asleep on the ground a while ago. She was also exhausted from all the work she had to do. All the students were sent to the infirmary at first because of these bio bands…that's on top of the usual and Link and Blaire's serious conditions.

"He has. He tried talking, but…he's incoherent. I lullabied him back to sleep." She rubbed her brother's forehead with her forefinger.

"Lullaby…" Jaden breathed, "You do that a lot."

Zelda only nodded, "They will both be fine." She whispered.

"That's good…" Jaden nodded, "Anyway, I brought you guys some food. It isn't much…but," Zelda takes one plate.

"Thank you," She smiles, "I appreciate it, Jaden."

Jesse joined them, "Hah…" He takes a deep breath, and then sits down.

Jaden clears his throat, "How did you eat where you're from?" He asked Zelda.

"Link and I had a fair share of difficult times, but most days, we ate the richest foods in Hyrule. Fish was some of our favorite food. Honestly, I was fond of plants. Almost everything I ate was plain plant, like an apple or a cabbage. Link preferred sweet things." She smiles widely, "We actually have a garden at home. Link tends to the apple trees, and he seems like he loves it. I just remember…he treats his apples with such care. He looks like a farmer like that."

"So, you aren't used to food like that, huh?" Jesse asked.

"No, I am. Like I said, we have had times where…things just weren't good."

Jaden hugged his knees to his chest, "So, do ya'll want to be big time Hylian duelists over there?"

Zelda smiled, "Well…not really. I just want to be a good leader. I want to right the wrongs of all my people, make life better for everyone. Link, I'm not sure what he wants to be, but he looks like a hero with his sword…"

"His…sword? Wait, what?" Jaden shook his head.

"In Hyrule, things are pretty advanced in our world, but we aren't nearly as advanced as you all are. You have all this fancy technology, computers, televisions, phones and intercoms…we have paper and quills. We still swordfight, like your ancestors did. We are traditional people, and humans are much more evolved."

"So…it's like medieval times where you're from." Jesse said.

Zelda raised a brow, "Medieval times?"

"Like everything you just said…do you have an emperor where you're from?"

"King, actually. He's…"

Zelda wanted to tell them the truth, but they would look at her differently, wouldn't they? They would look at Link differently…

"He's very corrupted." She told them, "I want to right his wrongs…"

"Cool…" Jaden whispered, "Can you do that? Right his wrongs, I mean? Don't you have to be…related? Like…royalty?"

Zelda smiled and nodded, "That's complicated."

"Well…" Jesse shrugged, "It isn't like we can go anywhere."

"We can all go to sleep." Zelda suggested.

"Are you royalty?" Jaden asked, "That would be so cool!"

Zelda shook her head, "I don't live in the castle," She said, and then faked a yawn, "Honestly, I am tired. I think I just need…to sleep." She let out a real yawn by accident.

"Goodnight," Jaden said.

"Night," Jesse joined.

Zelda hummed at them, and then she lied next to Link's body, and she closed her eyes. It actually took a little longer than she would have liked to fall asleep. Her dreams were at home, where everything made much more sense to her. There was no fancy technology, or holograms. It was just her, and her friends and Link. Her dreams were disrupted by that ugly face…Zant. This is no ordinary dream, though. There is a woman, very familiar, she is. Zant is threatening her. Very soon, and very swiftly, Zant hit this woman. She fell to the ground, seemingly disappearing behind her black robes. She didn't disappear, though, she was simply transformed. She emerged from her robes as an imp-looking creature, much less beautiful.

This dream was prematurely ended by a voice on that intercom. It is still dark out, and Zelda is extremely tired. She looked up and saw as the speakers slightly shifted with the vibrations of the booming voice. She saw Blaire sit up from the corner of her eye, and Link also sat up. Still too sleepy to really hear the words of the voice, Zelda closed her eyes again. Panic surged throughout the room. Anxiety and hysteria filled the gymnasium. It was impossible to relax in this room now.

Zelda sat up, and everything had already passed. Jaden was yelling at the intercom, demanding something more. Link grabbed Zelda's hand. Now she was fully awake.

"Did you hear that?" He asked.

"Actually, no."

"That voice…Marcel," Link mumbled, "He said he was going to let us have entry to the food storage if he could have access to the power control unit outside."

"…What does that mean?"

"I don't know," Link shrugged, "But Jaden doesn't think it is a good idea. He declined, and challenged Marcel to a duel. It sounds like a surprise is waiting outside for everyone."

"You're not going outside." Zelda said firmly.

"I know, I'm starving…" Link nodded.

Zelda looked behind her. Those two plates of food remain there. She silently thanked Jaden and gave a plate to Link.

"Eat up. Savor it, though. We don't have enough for anyone to have more than one of these."

Link took the first bite, "Then…how are we going to survive through tomorrow?"

Zelda sighed, "I don't know, Link." She stood up and handed the other plate to Blaire.

"Thank you, Zelda."

Link finished up his food, followed by Blaire. Jaden and the rest of them go outside. Zelda stayed with Link and Blaire, though. Nurse Fontaine is awake and tending to some other students. She is finally getting her share of food as well.

"Did you eat?" Link asked.

"Yes." Zelda replied.

"But you're still hungry…"

"We all are, Link."

Link looked down for a moment, in thought. He then scoffed.

"Marcel…that traitor."

"That can't really be Marcel!" Blaire defended her friend.

"How is it not?" Link asked.

"I mean…maybe he's possessed."

Link is silenced. He knows all too well how that goes. And it would explain his accent being gone…possession often changes the way voices sound. Link sighed.

"Either way, we need to get to the food storage."

Zelda shook her head, "No—"

"Zelda, hear me out." Link requested, "Look…summon a Goron, equip him with Fierceness of the Goron, and run through to the food storage. He'll be able to keep you safe, and he can help bring us food."

Zelda nodded, "That is a good idea, Link, but…let the ashes fall first. We can't just go running in blindly. Once we can see, if things are bad, and we need to do something, then that's what I'll do."

"Thank you…" Link said, and then he shivered.

Zelda picked up his blanket ad put it over his shoulders, "Here…"

"Thank you…" Link said, nodding.

"Where did they go?" Zelda asked.

Link replied, "They went outside. Jaden should be dueling Marcel soon…by the end of today, Jaden will have won his duel, and maybe we can figure out how to get home."

"How do you figure Marcel knows how to get home?" Zelda asked.

"…I have a feeling. Blaire said he may be possessed. That seems likely to me. That can't be a coincidence, Zelda. Whoever brought us here, I think, also possessed Marcel. What they want…I don't think anyone knows."

"Well…look at you, so smart." Zelda smiled after she thought to herself how much this all made sense, "I'm proud of you."

Link yawned, "And you know what? If this isn't solved by tomorrow for some reason, I am going out there to handle things myself."

Zelda wanted to protest, but by tomorrow, he should be fine. He is a healthy Hylian after all…


	25. Following Adrian

**A/N: Oh no! It's been over a month…well, you have proven your patience with me, which I really appresh, by the way! :) How do ya'll like the pictures I made? I did them in Photoshop with multiple concept art, screenshots…it was a lot of fun, and I really hope they portray a nice cover for the story. I was thinking about drawing it…but…it just doesn't work out. I like fan art, but I only like to draw fan art if it is my style of drawing, and…I don't know, I don't like it. Anyway, enjoy the next chapter! :)**

LoZ! GX AoS – Ch. 25: Following Adrian

Now, Link and Zelda are the only two left in the gym. Everyone else went outside to see what the surprise was. Just to be sure of it, though, Link takes multiple glances around the area to make sure no one could be listening on.

"What do you think of that Adrian lizard?" Link asked his sister in a whisper.

"Why are you whispering?"

"Walls might hear me…" Link shrugged, "Just answer the question."

Zelda crossed her legs and looked down at her slender hands, "Did we not already go through this?"

"I don't remember," Link said, "Answer the question."

"I think he is okay. And his name is Adrian Gecko."

"I'm suspicious about him. Doesn't he seem….suspicious?"

Zelda sighed, "Yes, I know, baby brother…"

"Don't avoid the question!" Link was still whispering.

After a moment of thought, Zelda looked up at Link, "Yes…actually, he is a strange fellow. He just disappeared…where is he?"

"I don't know. No one knows where he is, probably."

Zelda looked around the giant empty room as well, "Wow…this room is so big…" She looked at Link with her eyes, "Want to find him?"

"….Adrian?" Zelda nodded, "How do you suppose we do that?"

"Duel spirits come to life here, remember? Summon something that can track well." Zelda whispered.

"….Like a wolf?"

Zelda shakes her head with a grimace, "Wolfos are stupid creatures."

Link thought hard about this. What in a Hylian deck can track and is not "stupid" according to Zelda. Well…Zoran are good at catching things, maybe not tracking. The monster doesn't have to use his nose, he could use something like…vibrations in the earth. Molgera!

"Molgera can detect things above ground from under it. We are surrounded by sand. I think he would be at home here." Link told Zelda.

She nodded enthusiastically, "Good thinking. We need to get outside first."

"I thought you wanted me to stay inside."

"I do, but…that's because of the old you. You seem much healthier now."

Link smiled wide, "I feel healthy."

"Then let's go!"

And just like everyone else, the two abandoned their place here, and they went outside, so they could find Adrian Gecko, the slippery lizard. The two took the backdoor of duel academy so they will not be detected by the people out front. This is where Link summoned Molgera. The giant worm-like creature pops out of the sandy ground and faces down at the siblings, his pinchers sharp and lethal. He lowered his head to Link for a moment, and then he dived into the ground. Both Link and Zelda proceeded to follow the trail of flying sand that Molgera generated.

For a moment after traveling for a little bit, Molgera suddenly stopped. He emerged from the sand and flies high above the two blondes before coming back down and relaxing in front of Link. It stared at him with the pearl eyes on either side of his face. It made a strangled sound, indicating a question.

"You don't know him, but his name is Adrian Gecko," Link said as if replying to a question he understood, "He's tall um…6 feet at most, muscular…maybe 160 pounds, skinny, um…pointy red hair, he has a lot of metal around his neck…"

At this, Molgera shifted, as if looking down. And he jumped back into the sand, resuming his travels. At some point, very quickly, indeed, Molgera must have found Adrian, because he sped up. Zelda and Link were then running in order to keep up with him. It was not long before they see him. He was crouching behind a hill of sand. Jaden was far to the other side of this area with Blaire and Bonaparte. Something was happening, and Duel Ghouls are cornering them.

"Molgera, stop!" Link commanded.

Thankfully, he is too far from Adrian for him to hear the shout. Molgera comes out of the sand, and Link removes his card from his silver disk.

"I'm sorry, but we have to be sneaky from here on out, but you did well." Link whispered to Molgera's card.

Now, Link and Zelda did as Adrian was doing, and they were watching the commotion to the far right of them. It was nearly impossible to hear anything that was going on over there, but Link could have sworn he saw Marcel.

"Link, look!" Zelda whispered.

Adrian was on the move. Link and Zelda made sure to be a distance away from Adrian, but also, they made sure they could see him. There was one problem with this though. If Adrian turned around, he would spot the hylians. Whatever Gecko is up to, they needed to find out, though.

"I have an idea," Link pulled out his deck and searched for a rare spell card in one of his Hylian decks.

He actually had to swap out his deck a couple of times with the ones in his jacket, because he could not find the right one, "Ah!" He exclaimed when he finally found it.

"I play the spell, Arbiter Essence, twice, and equip to us." He was not sure if it would work, seeing as though Link and Zelda are not duel monsters, but it actually worked!

Now, both Link and Zelda were invisible. They could not see each other, but they could see each other's duel disks. Despite the desperate situation they have been in for such a long time, they actually laughed. Now they know how the damned feel! It was always so easy to spot a poe, despite the actual being's disappearance, due to the lantern that shone brightly. Now, the same issue has damned the siblings.

"I guess we just have to stay lower to the sand. Since we are uphill, it will be more difficult for Adrian to see at an instant glance." The two siblings held hands and crouched to the sand a little before moving on.

Following Adrian consisted of constant movement. He did not stop for a second, which means he has a destination…

"What is with this guy?" Link whispered.

"I don't know, but I'm sorry." Zelda replied.

"…For what?" Link asked her, genuinely surprised.

"For doubting your judgment." Zelda said, "All year, I have not been listening to you like I should have been. I should have known better. I should have trusted you, and learned from my previous mistakes. I'm sorry, Link. But I promise you, it will never happen again, Link."

Link smiled at Zelda, "Don't worry, Zelda. I don't blame you for not trusting my judgment, I mean…look who I was for so long. I wouldn't have trusted me, either." Zelda also smiled at Link, and they treaded upon Adrian's trail continuously.

Before they knew it, they were underground, having taken some stone stairs down into the sand world's basement. Adrian somehow seemed to know exactly where he was going, as if he has been down here before. He did not even look around at the rock formations. This place seemed like it was carved by a great beast or two…very threatening, it was.

The rooms got narrower, and the ceiling dropped. Adrian came to an instant stop at what seemed like a stone doorway from afar. And he spoke…

"Hope you're planning to share." He said.

So…he was following someone! Maybe he really was on the good side, he just was more of a lonely hero. Nevertheless, Link and Zelda just stayed back and observed. Adrian crossed his arms, and he was just walleyed at whoever was in this next area.

Just barely, Link and Zelda were able to hear, "Not without a fight!" And then there was a laughter.

"Marcel!" Link whispered, "He was following Marcel. Maybe he _is _on our side!"

Both Marcel and Adrian enter a duel quick as a flash, but the information the siblings got from the conversation they had prior answered Link's question once and for all.

"Can you feel their power Adrian?" Marcel's possessed voice asked.

Adrian gasped, "So it is true!"

"That's right Adrian. Within this case lie the three Sacred Beasts!" Marcel announced.

"Why do you want them? What are you after?" Adrian sounded angry.

"More power! What do you think?"

"Power for what?"

"My revenge." There was a pause after this for a moment.

"…Question. What about the agreement we had? You owe me!" Adrian was truly furious now.

"Of course. But what if I could offer you more? If you duel me, and you win, the three Sacred Beasts that are in this case could be yours. With them, you could even rule this world." Marcel waited for a moment before continuing, "What's it gonna be, Adrian?"

It did not take too much longer for Adrian to reply, "I hope you're ready to lose! Those cards are gonna be mine."

"Alright then," Marcel sounded.

"Game on!"

When Link got a good look at Marcel, he noticed the demonic, red duel disk. This was growing out of his arm, which was of the same skin. It looked wet and bloody…quite disgusting and horrifying.

Marcel went first, "Get ready to lose! I summon Mad Reloader, in DEF. And then I place one card face down and end my turn."

Link and Zelda moved a motion closer to the doorway. They are now further away from the door, and instead in the center of this room, dueling for a case. They remove their duel disks from their arms so they can get a closer look at the duel taking place between the possessed Marcel and traitorous Adrian Gecko.

Adrian drew a card, "I activate a spell card, Summon Cloud. With it, I can call up a level four or below Cloudian monster from my hand. Now, I'm about to blow you away! First, I'm gonna play Cloudian Sheep Cloud," (0 ATK) "And then I'll activate the Exploding Cloud spell card. Now I can destroy one monster on the field in attack mode, and then take damage equal to that card's attack points. With my Sheep Cloud having zero attack points, I'm safe. But with Sheep Cloud in my graveyard, I can now summon two Sheep Cloud tokens."

Link sighed, "Geez…human duels are so boring. Look at all the maneuvering they have to do just to get to a point. We summon a monster without a problem." He whispered.

"Actually, human dueling is a lot harder than Hylian dueling. They have a lot more rules you have to follow. We were much more lenient when we created our version five thousand years ago…"

"…I guess."

"I sacrifice both Cloud Tokens to call forth, Cloudian Eye of the Typhoon in ATK!" (3000) "Now, Eye of the Typhoon, attack his Mad Reloader! As you can see, Eye of the Typhoon's ability switches every monster's battle position, and now your monster's in ATK. Go perfect storm!"

Marcel's life points stand now at 1000.

"Nice move…but when Reloader gets destroyed from battle, I'm allowed to take two cards from my hand, send 'em to my deck, and draw two new cards." Marcel told Adrian

"And then I have to reduce my Eye of the Typhoon's attack points all the way down to 2500. Finally, I play a face down and end my turn."

Marcel smiled sinisterly, "Well played just as I had expected. I knew this duel would be a great challenge. Your wish to acquire the Sacred Beasts has you focused more than ever. But why do you need such power? What can you hope to gain? Perhaps it's not what the power can give you, but rather what it can replace."

This made Adrian cringe. This Marcel knows something about Adrian. Something dark from his past, maybe…

"Remember how it felt when he was born? You were the heir to everything your parents owned, and then he came along. All of a sudden, you were a "nobody", and you knew you were, no matter how hard your friend tried to convince you otherwise. It _was_ true! And yet you chose to stand by his side and do all that an older brother should do. You vowed never to hold it against him. It was so good of you to bottle up your true feelings, and it is so clear now why you're fighting _so_ hard for this power. You've been second best all your life. And now…you want to be number one. But it's too bad, because it will be your undoing!"

Adrian yelled back, "The only undoing that is going to happen here is me undoing the seal to those Sacred Beasts!"

Link swallowed. That is just like what Majora did to him. Adrian was being manipulated and he is being manipulated now. Link wanted to shout. He wanted to scream at Adrian to snap out of it. Get over his childhood and his family problems and move on! Because this just isn't worth losing his life over…

"Now, where were we?" Marcel asked, "Ah yes, it is my turn, and I place one card face down. That's it." Marcel lowered his hands, "Adrian if you want power, you have to earn it. In your world, you were denied glory for far too long, but we're not in your world anymore. We're in mine. And I'm the only thing standing between you and true power. Don't hold back!" Adrian gritted his teeth, "Beat me if you can!"

There was a slight pause in the whole world, at least until Adrian brought his hands up to his duel disk again, "My turn. With this being the standby phase, I must take a card from my hand and send it to my graveyard, or else Summon Cloud gets destroyed, but you know? I think it served its purpose, so I'll let that cloud dissipate and keep all my cards. Now that I've cleared the air, I think it's time you do so as well. So fess up! Is all you've been doing only about getting revenge? Tell me!"

Not a word came out of Marcel's mouth. He did not even move. It is almost as if he is still stuck in that worldly pause. Nothing swayed him.

"Fine, don't talk. Let's see if Eye of the Typhoon can get some answers." At the attack of Adrian's Cloudian, Marcel suddenly came back to life.

"Thanks for the pleasant breeze!" He said, "But my next move will blow you away!"

The fierceness in his voice made both the siblings and Adrian shiver.

Marcel looked up with dark eyes, and continued, "I'll start by revealing my trap cards, which both happen to be Break the Seal trap cards. Now, I can put two cards in my hand, so long as it has "The Forbidden One" in its name. Blown away yet?"

Adrian looked panicked, "Forbidden One?!" He repeated, "No way! You're gonna summon Exodia?"

Link and Zelda did not really understand this. They had never heard of Exodia, but it must be quite the powerful card if Adrian is reacting in this way. A black smoke covers the entire room.

"What is that?" His Eye of the Typhoon is destroyed, "What's happening?"

"The Sacred Beasts have escaped!" Marcel exclaimed, even though calmly.

"What?!" Adrian panicked.

Marcel began to glow orange, much like the color of Link and Blaire's previous wound, "Don't worry, they can't stay around too long. Their seal isn't broken. They must be curious of their new master! Now, back into your cages until I say so!" The so-called Sacred Beasts got close to Marcel and Adrian's bodies, but at the shorter boy's command, the beasts retreated back into the cage whence they came, as well as the black mist.

Marcel put away his cards, except for the four in his hand and began to walk away, "I think you're safe now."

Adrian ran after him, "Wait! Let's finish this!" He grabbed Marcel's demonic wrist to keep him from walking away any further.

Link cringed at the contact, and Marcel dropped the cards in his hand. When Adrian looked down at them, he gasped loudly and stared, wide-eyed. Link and Zelda couldn't see what cards they were, but they truly shocked Adrian.

"If you would have drawn one more card, by using Break the Seal, you would have completed Exodia, and you would have won the duel." Adrian let go of Marcel without a sound, and backed away from the younger boy.

"That's correct, but this duel wasn't about winning or losing. It was about seeing what you were made of. Now I can still give you what I promised, but you must work _with_ me and _not_ against me!" Without pausing for a breath, Marcel shouted, "Three Sacred Beasts, break your seal!"

Now, the three cards that were in the container to the far side of this room came out as projectiles from a bright white light. They flew directly to Marcel's demonic duel disk, and it disappeared through the circular base. The whole room began to light up, and Adrian's amazed smile was the last thing the two saw before this white light flooded the whole area, and neither of them could see anything.


	26. Removal

**A/N: I ****know these last few chapters have been revolving mostly around the Yu Gi Oh aspect of things, not like the previous story, but that is soon going to change! We are going back to LoZ soon. It is so close, I can taste it! Sorry for the lack of update, I…will get back into that point for a while where I update a bit more often over a period of time. :) Enjoy this chapter! R&R **

Ch. 26 – Removal

Link and Zelda were still invisible. They had to get this information to the rest of the group. One things was for certain, they had no idea what to do if things were taken into their own hands, even though Link wanted nothing more.

"I can handle it. I have the four masked beasts, and control over Majora. There is nothing he can summon that I won't be able to defeat."

Zelda shook her head, "No, we have to get back to our friends. We need their support…and, whatever is going on over there, they just might need ours as well. Someone has to tell Jaden what Adrian is up to. He may have the best chance at beating him." Zelda admitted, much to Link's distaste.

He unwillingly agreed, and followed his beloved sister out. Once they made it up to the surface, they were quite relieved. Now, they just had to make their way back to Duel Academy. Zelda squinted, putting her hand over her eyes and covering them up from the sun and the sand that floated in the wind. The effect of Arbiter Essence was no more, and the two were completely visible and walking.

It was beginning to get a little too warm for them. Zelda's throat was very dry, and Link was starting to taste the burning sand. Zelda sighed.

"Say, you don't think this will be anything like the haunted wasteland, do you?" Zelda asked.

"What do you mean?" Link was almost out of breath.

"Weary travelers…illusions…You know how that goes." Zelda replied.

Link was about to reply, he smiled, but his attention was caught by something in the corner of his eye. Something black…far away, human-looking, but…tall. He gazed over there, and saw a black cloth. The younger Hylian stopped, and tried to get a better look.

"Link…?" Zelda stood for a moment, staring at the back of Link's head, and over his shoulder, she, too, saw what he was looking at, her eyes widened, for the figure was somehow familiar.

She brought her hand to her duel disk, thinking just for a moment…no. It couldn't be.

"Do you see that?" Link asked, not taking his gaze away from the still being.

"Yes," Zelda responded slowly, "Think it is an illusion? Maybe this is the haunted wasteland…" She suggested.

Link shook his head, "No way…maybe if we were starving…or something. But we aren't and that is not an illusion." Link pointed.

Almost as if on cue, the figure turned, like on two feet, and stopped so it may have been staring right at the siblings. It caused Link and Zelda to jolt. Zelda definitely recognized the eyes, and her head began to hurt. She cringed and winced, placing her hand on her head. She held it there, and nearly cried. At the distressed sounds of his sister, Link looked at her, taking her hand in his.

"Zelda?" He whispered, "Are you okay?" Genuinely, Link was worried, he never imagined that it was Zant in her head, even though he knew of his presence…he somewhat forgot about it in the midst of all this craziness.

"He's speaking to me…" Zelda stated, pain deeply engraved in her voice.

Link stared at his sister, wide-eyed, knowing what she meant for sure. But…why now? When Link turned around, he noticed the being back there was actually closer to them, now. It was not moving at this very moment, but it was coming towards them…

When Zelda looked at the red eyes of this being she felt a great pain in her head, almost unbearable. She held her hand out, as if trying to push away the force that was causing her to feel the intense pain.

At this point, Link was becoming very worried for his sister. He had no idea what could have been wrong, and how it was connecting to the creature…clearly female, walking toward them. At a closer look at her, he could see red eyes, bright as the sun. It was a bit difficult to tell, but her skin seemed grey, and partially covered by black robes. There were many geometric designs evolving around this creature. She looked like she came straight from a duel monster card….

Zelda knew exactly who she was, and was extremely surprised by her. The voice inside her, Zant, knew who she was too, and he was not happy to see her. He kept screaming in Zelda's head, causing her great pain. He was slashing around like a maniac in there…. That Twili was far from happy, and it affected Zelda greatly.

"Can we just go?" She asked rather harshly, and began walking away.

Link went to follow her, but he took her hand and stopped her, "Wait…shouldn't we see who that is?"

"I know who it is…I can't…" Zelda brought her hand to her head again, in pain, "I need to get away from her."

The way it sounded, it seemed like she was doing this… "Zelda," Link glanced back and forth between the dark being and the light of his life, "Is she doing this to you?"

"No…It is Zant," She whispered, "He doesn't want her near…ah!" She yanked her hand away, and tried to get away.

"Zelda! Wait!" Link ran after her.

Unfortunately, though, the dark creature was following them. She began running, despite her sandals and her robes, and she hoped to catch up to Zelda and Link. Honestly, she felt like she should have already been closer to them. She can help Zelda, if only she'd let her.

The siblings were getting away, and Zelda was feeling less pain. It still hurt, but she calmed down, and dropped to her knees, irritating her skin on the sand. She sighed roughly, almost out of breath.

"Zelda?" Link fell to his knees as well, just so he could look at her, "Hey…" He breathed.

The dark woman was directly behind them in a matter of seconds, and Link turned to face her, hearing her breathing. Zelda was not feeling the same pain as before. At this even closer look, Link could see her clearly. Nothing was really covering her body except her back, but her skin was grey-blue with this swirling black pattern on one side of her body. Her robes were long and beautiful. Across her forehead, she wore a bejeweled crown, and her hair was style in a most odd way. She had no whites of her eyes, they were yellow, and an orange so bright and dark, it was almost red.

"Um…?" Link addressed.

The being blinked coolly, and looked at him, "I can help her, if you let me…" She stated, her voice very beautiful and hypnotizing.

It almost sounded robotic, but it had a strange echo to the end of every word…and she had emotion behind her words. Not only did she look breathtakingly beautiful, she sounded it, too. Link swallowed.

"Help her how?" He asked.

And Zelda turned around at that, and her eyes grew wide, "Midna…" She said.

This creature turned her strange eyes to Zelda, and nodded with a slight smile, she held her hand out, towards Zelda, but did not touch her, "May I?" She asked.

Link stepped aside, and looked at Zelda, "Your call."

Zelda took a moment, "What are you going to do to me?" She asked, voice trembling.

Midna did not pause at all in her speech, "I am going to remove him from your mind for good." She answered simply.

Zelda then nodded, "If you can, please…take him away!" She pleaded.

And at that moment, Midna touched Zelda's forehead with her forefinger, and there was a blue/blackish light, and Zelda was yelling. The tear from her mind and Zant must have been painful; Link knew it was for him... Soon, the light became blinding, and Zelda grew silent.


End file.
